Gilbert Bigio, Haitian Tycoon Sanctioned in 2022 for Gang Ties, Dies at 91
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 19
Gilbert Bigio, Haitian Tycoon Sanctioned in 2022 for Gang Ties, Dies at 91
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 19
Summary
Gilbert Bigio, a Haitian industrialist widely described as the country’s first billionaire, died Sept. 29 in Florida at 91; Haitian media reported his death.
Canada sanctioned Bigio in December 2022, saying it had reason to believe he and two other businessmen used their elite status to protect and enable armed gangs through money laundering, corruption, funding and weapons.
Bigio built a sprawling business empire through GB Group, later BGO, spanning steel, energy, logistics, consumer goods, construction and banking, with operations reaching Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
His family remains part of Haiti’s tiny economic elite, whose influence extends beyond commerce into the country’s turbulent politics and broader instability.
With Haiti's first billionaire dead, will international investigations into his deepwater port's alleged role in arms smuggling finally uncover the truth?
Could the death of the man controlling Haiti's essential supply chains trigger an even deeper economic collapse in the struggling nation?