| Juan Carlos Escotet | |
| Birth Name: | Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez |
| Birth Place: | Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality: | Spain Venezuela |
| Education: | Andrés Bello Catholic University University of Miami (MS) |
| Occupation: | Banker |
| Known For: | Founder, Banesco, Abanca |
| Spouse: | María Isabel Alviárez |
| Children: | 4 |
| Relatives: | Miguel Angel Escotet |
| Website: | http://www.juancarlosescotet.org/ |
Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez (born 1959) is a Spanish-Venezuelan billionaire banker and the founder of Banesco, the largest private financial institution in Venezuela. He is also CEO and shareholder (80 %) of Spanish bank Abanca, as well as president of Spanish football club Deportivo de La Coruña.[1] As of March 2022, his reported net worth is estimated at US$3.5 billion.[2]
Escotet was born in Madrid in 1959[3] as one of eight immigrant children in Spain. He began his work life performing errands for Banco Union in Venezuela in 1976 during which he also attended night school.[4]
He later earned a master's degree in professional management science from the University of Miami School of Business at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.[3]
After earning his MBA, Escotet worked as an executive for Sociedad Financiera Latinoamericana and then creating his own financial group.[4] In the 1990s, Escotet bought out Venezuelan financial institutions that were then going through a financial and banking crisis. He also set up his own establishment in Panama.[4] Escotet founded Banesco, which is now the largest private financial institution in Venezuela. In 2000, Banco Union was absorbed into Banesco in a merger agreement.[4] He owns other branches in Miami, Panama, Colombia, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.[4]
In 2015, Escotet acquired Spain-based NCG Banco, which was later renamed Abanca.[5]