Odebrecht family

The Odebrecht family established their fame through construction and infrastructure. In 1941, Norberto Odebrecht assumed control of the then small company from his father Emilio. Initially, they constructed purpose-built facilities and a dockyard. By 1952, the family expanded into hydroelectric dams. Just a year later, they built a partnership with petroleum giant Petrobras, a connection that later became controversial.
Decades later, Norberto handed over leadership of the country to his son Emilio, named after his grandfather, in 1991. In 2001, Emilio founded the petrochemical enterprise known as Braskem. In 2009, Marcelo Odebrecht, Emilio’s son, became CEO of Odebrecht and Braskem.
Marcelo’s leadership did not last long. During his tenure, the company became involved in various bribery scandals that rocked Latin America. Marcelo had established a bribery network that involved Petrobras executives and high-ranking public officials in many Latin American countries. In 2018, he was ousted from leadership and sentenced to 19 years in prison for various white-collar crimes.