Silvio Santos he is a businessman and television presenter. He was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1930, and his first job was as a street vendor. Currently, he is one of the most important people in the history of Brazilian television. Your television show, the Silvio Santos Program, running since 1961, is considered the longest-running television program in the world.
Read too: Chico Buarque — one of the main names in Brazilian Popular Music
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about Silvio Santos
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2 - Childhood and adolescence of Silvio Santos
- → Silvio Santos' first work
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3 - Career of Silvio Santos on the radio and as an entrepreneur
- → Silvio Santos and the Chest of Happiness
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4 - Career of Silvio Santos on television
- → Silvio Santos and SBT
- 5 - Silvio Santos in politics
- 6 - Business of Silvio Santos
- 7 - Marriages of Silvio Santos
- 8 - Daughters of Silvio Santos
- 9 - Curiosities about Silvio Santos
Summary about Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos has the name Senor Abravanel as his registered name.
He was born on December 12, 1930, in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro.
His father was born in Greece, and his mother in Türkiye.
Silvio Santos' first job was as a street vendor, selling plastic covers for documents in the 1946 elections.
Silvio was married twice and is the father of six daughters.
His career as a communicator began in radio voiceovers.
Silvio Santos' first registered company was Baú da Felicidade, in 1959.
SBT, Silvio's television station, was inaugurated on August 19, 1981.
In 1993, the Silvio Santos Program entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-lasting television attraction in the world. It is still on air on SBT.
Grupo Silvio Santos is the group of companies and businesses of the businessman from Rio de Janeiro.
Childhood and adolescence of Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos (Senor Abravanel) born on December 12, 1930 on Rua Travessa Bentevi, in Lapa, a traditional neighborhood in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Alberto and Rebeca Abravanel, a couple of Jewish immigrants living in Brazil. sir has five brothers, namely: Beatriz, Perla, Sara, Léo and Henrique.
When he was 11 years old, Silvio used to enter theaters for free with his brother Léo., with whom he maintained a closer relationship. His favorite cinemas were Capitólio, Rex, Odeon and Vitória, all located in the Cinelândia district. The money that was not spent to watch the movies was spent on bullets from collector cards.
Silvio reports in the work The Fantastic Story of Silvio Santos, written by Arlindo Silva, the emotions experienced in his adolescence. One of the stories that call attention is about when, one morning, Silvio woke up with flu symptoms, and his mother wouldn't let him and his brother go to the movies. He was very upset, he asked his mother so they could go. However, she didn't allow it. On that day, that same cinema caught fire, and many people were injured.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
→ First work of Silvio Santos
In 1946, during the elections, Silvio Santos, aged 16, came up with the idea of selling plastic covers for voter registration cards on the streets of Rio Janeiro. By observing a seller, he discovered the place where the material was bought so that he could work with sales. The strategy adopted was to tell people that it was his last cover. The tactic worked, and with that Silvio had his first experience as a street vendor.
the young carioca he did not leave his studies aside and graduated in Accounting at the Amaro Cavalcanti Technical School of Commerce, in Largo do Machado. In addition to the plastic document cover, the pen was another of Silvio's work materials on the streets. He acted smartly. To escape the street guards, he only worked when they were on their lunch break.
The ease with communication was used to draw the attention of people on the streets. He also used coins and playing cards as a strategy in order to win customers.
The inspection director of the City of Rio de Janeiro he even approached Silvio Santos to prevent him from continuing to sell on the street. When she realized that he studied and had a talent for communicating, suggested that Silvio participate in a contest for announcers on Rádio Guanabara.
In this contest were people who became great personalities in the history of radio and television, such as Chico Anysio, José Vasconcelos and Celso Teixeira. There were around 300 candidates, and Silvio ranked first in the selection. This was the first time that Silvio Santos carried out an artistic activity and in a communication vehicle.
Career of Silvio Santos on the radio and as an entrepreneur
Silvio Santos' first experience in a communication vehicle was as an announcer at Rádio Guanabara. The salary was 1,300 Cruzeiros per month, which for Silvio was very little compared to his income as a street vendor, which reached 960 Cruzeiros in a single day. With that, his time on the radio was just a month.
Silvio returned to work as a street vendor. The working time on the streets was 45 minutes, as he only sold during the guard's lunch break.
So the young took advantage of the rest of his time to go to the auditoriums of radio programs. He observed the way of communication of great names of the time, as was the case of César de Alencar and Heber de Boscoli.
The way César communicated and interacted with the public was very well assimilated by Silvio.
In his TV shows, years later, Silvio Santos presented characteristics inspired by the animators of his time.
At the age of 18, Silvio had to interrupt his work as a street vendor and dedicated himself to the army.. He provided services at the School of Parachutists, in Deodoro. With the army off on Sundays, Silvio began to work voluntarily on Silveira Lima's program on Rádio Mauá.
The young he had several experiences with different broadcasters, entertainers and artists on the radio. He worked on Rádio Tupi as soon as Silveira was transferred to the station.
He got out of the army and didn't go back to the streets. However, the radio salary of 2 thousand cruzeiros did not satisfy him. Like this, he came up with the idea of selling bespoke watches, jewelry, necklaces and shoes in public offices and departments. During this period, he reconciled his activities as a salesman and on the radio.
After Tupi, Silvio went to Rádio Continental, which had studios in Niterói. During this period, Silvio took the ferry from Niterói to Rio at night. He came up with the idea of putting a loudspeaker service on the barge with the intention of advertising products on the vehicle.
To carry out his planning, he resigned from the radio station and reached an agreement with the device's store. He had the help of Celso Teixeira and his brother Léo. Thus, they acted as announcers on the ferries through the loudspeaker service. Silvio held the position of ad broker.
In Arlindo Silva's book, the TV presenter says that at that moment he left behind the street vendor spirit and began to explore his entrepreneurial and business side.
After activities as an ad broker, Silvio opened a bar and bingo on the boat that went to Paquetá. He also became a game entertainer on these trips.
![Silvio Santos presenting a TV show at the beginning of his career. [2]](/f/2b157fafa2a887a66d403795fa4e936f.jpg)
In 1950, Silvio got a job as a radio announcer, but in São Paulo. The signing of a contract as an announcer at Rádio Nacional, also located in São Paulo, took place in 1954.
To supplement his income, he created a magazine, The jokes for you, which contained crosswords, riddles, and pastime activities. In this period, he also performed in circuses as an entertainer.
It was from there that Manoel de Nóbrega invited him to be his animator in a program with a large audience on Rádio Nacional. The painting was Barber's Chair, popular at the time for being critical of political customs.
→ Silvio Santos and the Chest of Happiness
The Chest of Happiness was created by Manoel de Nóbrega. Initially, the company provided a trunk with various products through the monthly collection of payment slips. After a while, the business faced a financial crisis. Manoel called Silvio Santos to help.
Silvio realized that if Baú da Felicidade had good management, it could become a very profitable business. After managing to help Nóbrega to get around the situation, Silvio received his friend's company as a gift in view of his effort to rebuild it.
In 1959, the Baú da Felicidade was registered in the name of Silvio Santos. The company began operations on Rua 13 de Maio, in the Boa Vista district, in São Paulo. Silvio performed in circuses and shared information about his business in these spaces to help the company become known throughout the city.
Silvio Santos career on television
Silvio Santos' career on television started in 1961. O His first program was Let's play hangman aired by TV Paulista. After the purchase of the first hours of Sunday programming, also by TV Paulista, the communicator started his famous Silvio Santos Program.
In 1965, Silvio debuted a program on Wednesday nights on TV Tupi. The attraction had the following names over time: Feast of the Bells, His Majesty: Ibope, city against city It is Silvio Santos Different. In the following year, the Silvio Santos Program even won in the audience against the attraction Young guard, hosted by Roberto Carlos on Record.
High ratings became more frequent from 1968 onwards.. At that time, Silvio's program featured the paintings: The Galãs Cantam e Dançam, Beware of the Horn, Dating in the Dark, Couples in the Berlinda and His Majesty, the Child.
The painting Good Night, Cinderella focused on the public's emotion by giving girls from poor families the opportunity to experience a special “princess” moment. Sinos de Belém, on the other hand, became one of the most popular paintings of the time. The use of planes and helicopters was already part of the attraction, which consisted of carrying out challenges. Silvio even climbed a fireman's ladder to the 15th floor of a building, without using safety equipment, during the exhibition of this painting.
In 1971, the TV presenter posed for one of the most controversial magazine covers in the history of the Brazilian press. In the photo, Silvio Santos, through a montage, appeared bald. Sales reached historic levels.
That same year, the contract with Globo ended. With the intention of having their own television station, negotiations for the purchase of Record shares were made, but were unsuccessful. Roberto Marinho, owner of Globo, personally called Silvio Santos and proposed that the presenter continue for another five years at the station.
See too: television history
→ Silvio Santos and SBT
After winning the competition for channel 11, opened by General Geisel, Silvio Santos started the history of the station itself. On May 14, 1976, the Studio Silvio Santos Cinema and Television channel, known as TVS, went on air.
In that same year, the entrepreneur bought 50% of the shares of Record. At the station, he started to show the program Silvio Santos Different, which lasted until the end of that year.
Aired on TV Tupi, Record and TVS, Silvio consolidated an unprecedented feat in Brazil. In March 1981, President João Figueredo granted four channels to Silvio Santos. Officially, the Brazilian Television System (SBT) was born.
On the morning of August 19, 1981, with the coverage of the concession ceremony, Silvio Santos' channel went on air nationwide. On SBT, the presenter gained national prominence with programs such as What is the song?, door of hope It is In the name of love.
In 1987, the humor program The square is ours premiered on SBT. On the occasion, Silvio Santos participated alongside Carlos Alberto de Nóbrega and recalled the story he had with Carlos' father, Manoel.
O Silvio Santos Program received in 1993 the title of the longest lasting program in the world for the Guinness Book (the book of records). At the time, the program completed 31 years.
O telethon aired for the first time in 1998 on SBT and it is a campaign program carried out by the NGO AACD, which has as its theme solidarity with people with physical disabilities. At the time, the godmother and presenter was Hebe Camargo.
The famous million show premiered on SBT in November 1999. It was shown until 2003 and then returned to the station's programming schedule in 2009.
Silvio Santos in politics
![Silvio Santos at a press conference at the Planalto Palace in 2010. [4]](/f/34cea40428a87bc1154b86cf35ffbfac.jpg)
Despite not having held any political office, Silvio Santos received invitations to stand as a candidate in some elections.
In 1988, he was asked to run for City Hall of São Paulo. In 1989, he was a pre-candidate for presidency of the republic by the Brazilian Municipalist Party (PMB). The party did not comply with the requirements of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), and therefore, the candidacy was not validated. In 1990, the businessman received an invitation to apply for the Sao Paulo's State Government.
During these periods, there were several surveys of voting intentions in which the communicator was ahead of potential competitors.
Also access: Fernando Henrique Cardoso — the only politician elected twice in the first round for the presidency of Brazil
Business by Silvio Santos
The Silvio Santos Group is the set of companies and businesses of the presenter from Rio de Janeiro. The group's history begins with the registration of Baú da Felicidade, in 1959, which was the first company in the name of Silvio Santos.
In 1962, the entrepreneur created the Advertising Silvio Santos, which, together with Baú, became the base of the group.
O Panamericano Bank it was one of Silvio's big deals, but due to financial complications it was sold to BTG Pactual.
Silvio Santos has had share control of Leadership Capitalization since 1975, the company responsible for Tele Sena.
In 2006, the businessman created the cosmetics company Jequiti. This name was chosen due to the Jequitibá tree. On SBT, the program is shown Wheel to Wheel Jequiti with the presence of brand consultants and their clients.
The following year, Silvio inaugurated the hotel Sofitel Jequitimar Guaruja, located in the city of Guarujá in São Paulo. The investment was R$ 150 million. There are 302 rooms, an auditorium for 1,220 people and eight convention rooms.
Among other businesses of the Silvio Santos Group are the SiSAN Real Estate Developments and the TV Alphaville, which pioneered the implementation of cable TVs in Brazil and was responsible for the first HD transmission (High Definition) from the country.
Silvio Santos' fortune was valued at BRL 1.7 billion in 2021, according to Forbes magazine.
Weddings by Silvio Santos
![Silvio Santos and Iris Abravanel at a public event. [5]](/f/34d707802140ab96f44692b21b5b96ec.jpg)
Silvio Santos' first marriage was to Maria Aparecida Vieira Abravanel, Cidinha, on March 15, 1962. She was born in São Paulo in 1938. They met on National Radio. The two eldest daughters, Cintia and Silvia, were born from the relationship. With cancer in the digestive system, she died at the age of 38 in 1977.
The second wedding took place on February 20, 1981, with Iris Bird Abravanel. Iris worked at the Chest of Happiness. They had four daughters: Daniela, Patrícia, Rebeca and Renata.
Daughters of Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos has six daughters from his two marriages:
Cintia Abravanel: daughter of Silvio Santos with Cidinha, the eldest known as “daughter number one” works as a theater director. She is the mother of actor Tiago Abravanel.
Silvia Abravanel: also the daughter of Silvio Santos with Cidinha, she is a TV presenter and started to run the children's program Good Morning & Co., on SBT, in 2015.
Daniela Beyruti: Silvio Santos' first daughter with Iris, works as an art director at SBT.
Patricia Abravanel: second daughter of Silvio Santos with Iris, she is a TV presenter, one of Silvio's best known daughters.
Rebecca Abravanel: third daughter of Silvio Santos with Iris, graduated in Cinema and has already presented the Wheel to Wheel Jequiti.
Renata Abravanel: fourth daughter of Silvio Santos with Iris and his youngest daughter, holds a prominent position in the Silvio Santos Group.
Facts about Silvio Santos
Silvio Santos is a descendant of Isaac Abravanel, who was recognized for his studies of the Bible and for his efforts to save Portugal. Isaac lived from 1437 to 1508.
At the 2001 Rio de Janeiro Carnival, the Tradição samba school paid homage to Silvio Santos. The floats themed the presenter's great successes, such as Sunday at the park, What is the song? It is Press Trophy.
The businessman is allergic to perfumes. Her cosmetics company created unique products for allergy sufferers.
Silvio has commanded more than 100 different programs.
the little march Silvio Santos is coming features popular verses about the communicator. It was composed by Archimedes Messina in 1965.
The type of book I most enjoy reading are biographies.
Silvio Santos' favorite singers are Julio Iglesias and Roberto Carlos.
My favorite subject in school was Mathematics.
image credits
[1] Planalto Palace / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[2] GRC05 / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[3] Visual Creation SBT / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[4] Antonio Cruz / Agência Brasil / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[5] Planalto Palace / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
[6] Sergio Savaman Savarese / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
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