Ricardo Brennand

Ricardo Coimbra de Almeida Brennand (27 May 1927 – 25 April 2020) was a Brazilian businessman, engineer, and art collector in the state of Pernambuco. In 2002 he founded the Ricardo Brennand Institute, which includes the world's largest private collection of Frans Post paintings, and was the 17th-highest-rated museum in the world according to TripAdvisor in 2014.

Early life Brennand was born to Dulce Padilha Coimbra and Antônio Luiz de Almeida Brennand in Cabo de Santo Agostinho. He and his family relocated to Recife in 1930, where Brennand completed his secondary education at Colégio Marista from 1937 to 1942. During this time he learned fluent German and English, owing to his British ancestor Edward Brennand who immigrated to the Brazilian northeast in 1820. He was given a pocketknife by his father in his youth and began collecting weapons and paintings from then. He studied civil and mechanical engineering at the Federal University of Pernambuco, graduating in 1949.

Following the creation of IRB, Brennand moved his investments to the energy sector, particularly in wind and hydropower. In 2009 he resumed investments in the cement industry, and later ventured into real estate, financing the private residential community Reserva do Paiva in Cabo de Santo Agostinho.

The Ricardo Brennand Institute's collection includes historic and artistic objects from a wide range of periods, from the Late Middle Ages to the 21st century. It contains historic and iconographic documents related to the colonial period and Dutch Brazil, which includes an important collection of paintings made by Dutch artist Frans Post (1612–1680), one of the members of the company of John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, who led the New Holland colony in Pernambuco. In 1952, on a trip to England, Brennand purchased many weapons that would later be included in the museum's collection; he acquired many of the items in the museum from auctions and other private collections.

In 2019 Brennand's net worth was valued at R$3.1 billion by Forbes, which made him the second-oldest billionaire in Brazil at the time.

Personal life Brennand was married to Graça Monteiro Brennand, with whom he had eight children. He was the cousin of ceramics artist Francisco Brennand. Remembrances came from Pernambuco governor Paulo Câmara and Recife mayor Geraldo Júlio, the latter declaring three days of mourning in honor of Brennand.