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Part one: The corporation behind Ecuador's new president
In Ecuador, a new political force has emerged in the form of president-elect Daniel Noboa. Although a recent entry to the country’s political arena, Noboa is no stranger to power or politics.
Behind the man poised to lead the nation until 2025 stands an empire of corporations linked to the country’s largest banana exporter - Bonita - led by his father and founded by his grandfather, as well as a dynasty of influential family members and their spouses.
Born in 1987 in Miami as Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa Azín, Ecuador’s new president is a dual US-Ecuadorian citizen.
His billionaire father, Noboa Corporation CEO Álvaro Noboa, controls over one hundred companies in real estate, shipping, automotive, and agriculture. Noboa Sr. has run for president of Ecuador five times without success. His mother, Anabella Azín, is also part of Ecuador’s political elite. A medical doctor and surgeon, she was also a congresswoman with the National Action Party. Daniel Noboa has two siblings, Juan Sebastián, 33, and Santiago, 22. His cousin, Carla Noboa Azín, was also raised by his family following the death of her mother. She is married to one of the richest men in Barbados, Giles Carmichael.
Daniel Noboa's background
Young Daniel Noboa was educated in reputable American universities. He studied business administration at New York University (2011) and Northwestern University (2019). Moreover, he is an alumnus of Harvard’s Kennedy School, obtaining a second master’s in public administration in 2020. He graduated with his third master’s in political communication and strategic governance in 2022 from George Washington University.
His impressive accolades were accompanied by entrepreneurial ventures. At age 18, he founded DNA Entertainment Group, an events and concert promotions company which expanded to Spain and Panama and into other industries such as food, beverages, and hospitality. His business makes 5 million USD in sales annually. From 2010 to 2018, Daniel Noboa became Commercial Director at the Noboa Corporation, overseeing maritime logistics.
In August 2023, Daniel Noboa told journalists that his net worth was 2 million USD. According to the latest sworn statement filed by the subject to the Comptroller's Office in 2023, his assets total 1,502,889 USD, and his net worth is 643,848 USD. According to official records from the Superintendency of Companies, Noboa owns shares in Pesquera Marintan, Predios Cutiriba, Fantastisol, Cordenesa, Pozuelo de oro (Pozoro), Logic Choice (Logch), and Nobexport. Furthermore, Noboa is set to inherit a holding of the Noboa family worth 300 USD million.
Ecuador’s new president resides in Olón, Santa Elena. A father of two, he has been married twice. His second wife is Ángela Lavinia Valbonesi, a popular Ecuadorian social media influencer. She is expecting his third child.
Noboa's controversies
Daniel Nobao's personal life has not always been one of bliss. His ex-wife, Gabriela Goldbaum Smith, with whom he shares a daughter, Luisa, has publicly accused him of cheating on her and mistreating his daughter. Noboa sued Goldbaum for 20 million USD because of her allegations.
Daniel Noboa has faced other controversies related to political choices and non-transparent business activities.
In 2022, Ecuador’s Congress opened an investigation into a trip of the country’s Delegation of Ecuadorian Legislators to Russia financed entirely by Daniel Noboa.
Over 20 NGOs have accused the new president of tax evasion between 2009 and 2013. In addition, a recent investigation by the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo revealed that Noboa was the direct beneficiary of at least three off-shore companies registered in Panama - a notorious tax haven – which he inherited from his father. Supported by data from the Ecuadorian government, the article states that the firms had transferred hundreds of thousands of US dollars to Ecuadorian companies in the Noboa Group.
Had it been proven true, Daniel Noboa would have been disqualified from the presidential race for violating the electoral law. In a 2017 referendum, the Ecuadorian people voted in favour of a law prohibiting elected officials and public servants from holding assets or capital in tax havens. Despite the allegations, the electoral authorities opened no investigation.
This article’s
second part will examine the vast Noboa Corporation and its labour practices, which link back to Ecuador’s first man.
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