Alejandro Pedro Bulgheroni, born on October 24, 1943, is an Argentine billionaire businessman in the oil and gas sector. After graduating from the University of Buenos Aires, he joined his father’s company, Bridas Corporation, founded by the Bulgheroni family in 1948. Following the company’s expansion, half of it was sold to the Chinese state-owned group CNOOC in 2010. Bulgheroni currently resides in Manantiales, Uruguay. According to Forbes, he is the only billionaire in Uruguay.
Early life
Alejandro Bulgheroni was born in Rufino, Santa Fe Province, to a Spanish mother and an Italian father, also named Alejandro Bulgheroni. He studied at the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned a degree in Industrial Engineering. His younger brother was Carlos Bulgheroni (1945–2016).
Career
Bulgheroni joined his father Alejandro at Bridas Corporation in 1965, when he was 22 years old. Bridas was founded by the Bulgheroni family in 1948 and by the 1970s had become one of the largest private energy firms in Argentina. Bulgheroni Sr. died in 1985, leaving a majority stake in the company to Alejandro and his younger brother Carlos.
In 1992, Bulgheroni secured some of the first gas exploration concessions awarded in Turkmenistan to a foreign energy company. He was also involved, in 1997, in negotiations between Bridas and the ruling Taliban faction in Afghanistan to build the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. These negotiations competed with those led by Unocal, and although an agreement was initially reached with the Unocal-led CentGas consortium, the deal was canceled in January 1998 in favor of Bridas. However, instability in Afghanistan delayed pipeline construction, and following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, Bridas’ contract was rescinded in favor of Unocal’s previous agreement. In 2006, Bulgheroni expressed interest in reviving Bridas’ involvement in the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline project, which remained hindered by ongoing unrest in the Central Asian nation.
In 2010, Bulgheroni sold 50 percent of Bridas to the Chinese state-owned group CNOOC, which was followed by the acquisition of Axion Energy Argentina in 2012, along with ExxonMobil’s crude oil refineries and fuel and lubricant commercial assets in Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Personal life
He resides in Manantiales, Uruguay. According to Forbes, he is the only billionaire in Uruguay. In 2016, his brother Carlos died of cancer at the age of 71.
In October 2019, Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.9 billion, making him the 831st richest person in the world.
Bulgheroni also owns several vineyards around the world, despite giving up alcohol after marrying his wife Bettina. One of his vineyards, Bodega Garzón, won the New World Winery of the Year 2018 award from Wine Enthusiast magazine.