Iris Fontbona
Chilean businesswoman; widow of Andrónico Luksic Abaroa and matriarch of the family controlling Antofagasta plc and Quiñenco
| Iris Fontbona
| |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1943 Antofagasta, Chile |
| Occupation | businesswoman |
| Known for | Head of the Luksic family business group (Antofagasta plc, Quiñenco) |
| Spouse(s) | Andrónico Luksic Abaroa (d. 2005) |
Iris Fontbona is a Chilean businesswoman and the widow of Andrónico Luksic Abaroa. With her children, she controls the London-listed copper miner Antofagasta plc and holds a majority stake in the Chilean conglomerate Quiñenco.[1][2] Forbes lists the fortune as "Iris Fontbona & family"; this single profile covers that family entry. On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Iris Fontbona and family 47th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$42.78 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Mining.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Iris Fontbona and family 35th, at US$52.6 billion.[4]
Early life and family
El País reported in January 2024 that Iris Balbina Fontbona González, then aged 81, was born in Antofagasta in northern Chile, the only daughter of Luis Fontbona Buxallen and Emma González Morales. In the early 1960s she met the businessman Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, who was 16 years older and recently widowed, with two young sons, Andrónico and Guillermo. They married and had three children: Paola (1962), Jean Paul (1964) and María Gabriela (1965). The family moved to Santiago in the mid-1960s.[2] Forbes describes Andrónico, Jean-Paul and Guillermo as her sons and says Guillermo Luksic died of lung cancer in 2013. El País quoted Andrónico Luksic Craig as calling her his second mother.[1][2]
Business interests
Andrónico Luksic Abaroa died in 2005. Forbes reports that he left his businesses to Fontbona and the sons.[1] According to Quiñenco, the group was reorganised in 1996: its financial and industrial investments went to Quiñenco, while mining and railways stayed with Antofagasta plc. In mining, through Antofagasta Minerals, it operates the Los Pelambres, Centinela, Antucoya and Zaldívar deposits in Chile.[5] Forbes reports that Jean-Paul Luksic chairs Antofagasta and that Andrónico Luksic, who had led Quiñenco since 2013, stepped down in December 2023. Quiñenco's board page shows Pablo Granifo as chairman since December 2023.[1][6]
El País, citing Bloomberg, reported in 2024 that the family controlled almost 70% of Antofagasta, 83% of Quiñenco and more than 84% of Croatia's Plava Laguna hotel group, partly through investment vehicles in Liechtenstein. Citing the Chilean newspaper La Segunda and US SEC records, it reported that although Fontbona does not sit on the boards of the listed companies, she controls the board of the foundation set up by her husband, through which she holds ownership of the group.[2]
Wealth
Forbes gives the source of the family's wealth as mining.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 19 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2008. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 77 | 10.0 |
| 2009 | 76 | 6.0 |
| 2010 | 52 | 11.0 |
| 2011 | 27 | 19.2 |
| 2012 | 32 | 17.8 |
| 2013 | 35 | 17.4 |
| 2014 | 58 | 15.5 |
| 2015 | 82 | 13.5 |
| 2016 | 101 | 10.1 |
| 2017 | 84 | 13.7 |
| 2018 | 80 | 16.3 |
| 2019 | 74 | 15.4 |
| 2020 | 124 | 10.8 |
| 2021 | 74 | 23.3 |
| 2022 | 67 | 22.8 |
| 2023 | 65 | 23.1 |
| 2024 | 75 | 25.7 |
| 2025 | 70 | 28.1 |
| 2026 | 35 | 52.6 |
Philanthropy
Fundación Luksic describes itself as the first and oldest of the Luksic family's foundations, with origins in social initiatives led by Andrónico Luksic Abaroa in the 1960s. Its programmes cover entrepreneurship, education, sport, international education, early childhood and conservation, and include the More Women in STEM Luksic scholarships launched in 2024.[7] In November 2015 Chilevisión reported that Fontbona, speaking for the family, had given 3,100 million pesos to the Teletón charity, the second instalment of a three-year commitment to fund a Teletón institute in Antofagasta.[8]
Political activity
No party donations or political roles for Fontbona personally were found in the sources checked.
Controversies and legal issues
No legal proceedings involving Fontbona personally were found in the sources checked.
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
El País reported the family's holding in Croatia's Plava Laguna hotel group and its use of Liechtenstein-based investment vehicles.[2]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Iris Fontbona & family (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/iris-fontbona/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Antonia Laborde, The hermetic life of Iris Fontbona, the richest woman in Latin America El País (English edition), 8 January 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Quiñenco S.A., Luksic Group Quiñenco, undated (accessed 20 October 2026), accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Quiñenco S.A., Board Members and Executives Quiñenco, undated (accessed 20 October 2026), accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Fundación Luksic, Who We Are Fundación Luksic, undated (accessed 20 October 2026), accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Rodrigo Lopez, Familia Luksic realizó gran aporte de 3 mil 100 millones de pesos Chilevisión, 28 November 2015, accessed 20 October 2026.