M. Safra & Co.

M. Safra & Co.

M. Safra & Co. was established in 1998 to manage the financial assets of the Safra family, descendants of the banking empire built by Moise Safra. The firm is led by Managing Director and Partner Ezra Safra, with Vice President and Director Edmond M. Safra — son of Moise — and Jacob M. Safra, who leads the affiliated M.Y. Safra Bank, operating as key principals. The office maintains dual headquarters in São Paulo and New York, reflecting the family's deep roots in both Brazilian and global financial markets. The firm's investment mandate spans multiple asset classes, blending direct property holdings with allocations to funds and structured credit. Known real estate assets include a prominent stake in the mixed-use 660 Madison Avenue in New York — formerly the Barneys flagship — alongside residential properties at 7 East 96th Street, 2 East 67th Street, and the Moise Safra Center at 130 East 82nd Street. A historical stake in the GM Building at 767 Fifth Avenue is also recorded. Beyond real estate, the firm holds a portfolio of life settlements and deploys capital into global hedge funds and private credit strategies, executing through a combination of direct co-investments and third-party fund commitments. In 2008, M. Safra & Co. made a structural shift, beginning to accept external capital while managing it alongside the family's own assets under the same investment team and principles — an uncommon posture for a single-family office. This hybrid model allows the firm to scale its strategies without diluting the governance controlled by the Safra family. The office maintains a deliberate talent strategy, recruiting professionals globally for their ability to adapt to shifts in the financial system, which is cited internally as a core operational requirement. The family's adjacent interests include the collection of banker and art dealer David Nahmad, whose daughter Marielle is married to Edmond M. Safra. The structural differentiator is the firm's post-2008 hybrid approach: a single-family office that pools outside capital into its internal vehicles, co-investing family wealth alongside external partners. This architecture attempts to capture institutional-scale economics and talent while preserving the permanent capital base of a family office — a configuration more common among US technology-founders than the legacy banking fortunes of Latin America.