Portuguese businessman Belmiro Mendes de Azevedo has an estimated net worth of $1.77 billion as of May 2016 according to Forbes. In 2008, de Azevedo's net worth was estimated to be around $2 billion which made him as the 605th wealthiest man in world and Portugal's second richest man.

Belmiro Mendes de Azevedo was born on February 17, 1938 in Tuias, Marco de Canaveses. He completed his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Porto, and finished his MBA from Harvard University. He also attended Stanford University. He is currently married to Maria Margarida Carvalhais Teixeira. He has three children named Maria Claudia, Duarte Paulo, and Nuno Miguel.

Today, Belmiro de Azevedo is the largest and controlling shareholder in Sonae SGPS, which is considered as one of Portugal's largest business groups today. Though based in Portugal, the company also operates in Turkey, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece. In addition to retailing and real estate, the group also holds investments in other fields like tourism, media, venture capital and telecommunications.