Isaac Benayon Sabbá

Isaac Benayon Sabba ( ; ; Hebrew: ; February 12, 1907 – March 22, 1996) was a Brazilian entrepreneur. He founded the IB Sabbá Ltda. group and Petroleo Sabbá S.A.,

Career Sabbá founded the firm IB Sabbá, an exporting firm and later changing the name to IB Sabbá & Cia. Ltda. his most successful company was the Petróleo Sabbá, the company had the participation of his nephew Moyses Israel.

The group had diversified its business portfolio created over 42 factories, as FiteJuta (beneficiation Jute), alligator leather benefiting Co., oil refinery and distribution of petrol. They exported rosewood, Brazil nut, Oil refinery among other products of the extractive industry.

Early career In 1930 he joined in partnership with one of his brothers, and founded the firm J.Sabbá representations & Cia. He soon realized the limited potential of this line of business, and moved to an export firm. Began, then a sort of interstate commerce while exporting firms of Amazonas then existing employed its activities almost exclusively in foreign trade.

In 1942, Isaac Sabbá had founded the Companhia Mercantil Comissionária e Exportadora, transformed later in Devel – Amazon Development Society Ltda., in order to increase the elastic-tire businesses.

Oil Business The Oil Refinery Isaac Sabbá built on the shores of the Rio Negro in Manaus, began operations on September 6, 1956, under the name Companhia de Petroleo do Amazonas (COPAM; English: Petroleum Company of the Amazon). The refinery was officially opened on January 3, 1957, with the presence of President Juscelino Kubitschek.

However, only to produce fuel was not enough, most important was to make them accessible to other consumer centers, his aim was the integration of the Amazon region into economic life of the country. and was renamed Refinaria de Manaus (REMAN; English: Manaus Refinery), only in 1996 after his death it was renamed Refinaria Isaac Sabbá. On May 31, 1974, COPAM was incorporated into the Petrobras System as REMAN.

A soccer team was named after a Petroleo Sabbá gas station, the Associação Atlética Cori-Sabbá.

Personal life and death Sabbá married Irene (née Assayag) Gonçalves Sabbá (1925–2006) in 1942. The couple had 5 children, Moises Gonçalves Sabbá (b.1944), Alberto Mimon Gonçalves Sabbá (b. 1945), Mario Gonçalves Sabbá (b.1947), Ester Gonçalves Sabbá (b.1949) and Débora Gonçalves Sabbá (1963–1963). He took as a pupil his nephew Moyses Benarrós Israel, who was his right hand during all of his life.

Isaac Sabbá died on March 26, 1996, of pneumonia. He was survived by his wife Irene and his four children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Philanthropy Sabbá built the Military Hospital of Manaus the federal funding for the construction of the hospital would be returned, the hospital that still serves up to its objectives.

When the CEM – Manaus Electricity Company – was implemented in the city it had Isaac Sabbá as a guarantor. He also surveyed the necessary resources with banks in order to pay the payroll of the employees. In order to help, he putted the equipment and machinery of his refinery at the disposal of the new company, without charge.

Isaac Sabbá also helped create and was the one who helped the BEA – Amazonas state bank – in the most difficult moments, lending money to that institution whenever its cash needs required it.

As a Jew throughout his life, he was a member of the Amazonas Jewish Committee, and he raised money to build Manaus synagogue Beit Yaacob – Rebi Meyr.