Marcos Galperin
Marcos Eduardo Galperin | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 31, 1971 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder, chairman, President, and CEO of Mercado Libre |
Marcos Eduardo Galperin (born 31 October 1971) is an Argentine entrepreneur who co-founded and currently holds the positions of chairman, President, and CEO at Mercado Libre. As of July 2024, his net worth is estimated at $6.8 billion, making him the richest person in Argentina.
Early and personal life
Galperin was born in Buenos Aires into a prosperous Jewish-Argentine family. He is the fourth among five brothers born to Ernesto and Silvia Julia Galperin, whose family controlled SADESA, a prominent international leather company.
He completed his secondary education at Saint Andrew's Scots School in Olivos, where he distinguished himself in rugby. He then pursued finance studies at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1994. Following graduation, he had a brief tenure at YPF, Argentina’s energy corporation. In 1997, he entered Stanford University and obtained an MBA degree in 1999.
In March 2000, Galperin married Karina, and together they have three children. Since 2002, his primary residence has been in Uruguay, alternating between Montevideo and Punta del Este. He returned to Argentina in 2015 to support Mauricio Macri’s administration but relocated back to Uruguay in 2020, attracted by its more advantageous business environment. His move has served as an example for other Argentine entrepreneurs. Additionally, Galperin is an avid fan of Club Atlético Independiente.
Career
Galperin is widely acknowledged as a pioneering figure in Argentina's internet business sector. He received the Konex Award in 2008 and was honored with the Platinum Konex Award in 2018 for being one of the country’s most impactful businessmen over the decade. In 1999, he was named an Endeavor Entrepreneur and currently holds a position on the board of Endeavor Argentina, a global non-profit organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in developing economies. He also serves on the board of Onapsis, a company specializing in business application security, and invests in COR, a project management platform that forecasts and monitors profitability in real time.
Apart from his leadership at Mercado Libre, Galperin was a board member at Globant until 2020. Furthermore, he is a founding member and principal investor of the Miami Sharks, a rugby union team based in Miami, Florida, launched in 2023.