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He was born surrounded by luxury in 1916, in Petrópolis, heir to a fortune estimated at over US$ 100 million, something close to half a billion dollars in current values.
At 23, he crossed the Atlantic by ship to the United States, began to frequent Hollywood, and discovered a clear life goal: spend it all, without ever working, while enjoying parties, travel, and famous women.
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Jorginho Guinle wanted to leave the world “with an empty pocket and a satisfied heart.” The plan, however, failed: the money ran out first; he would still live almost two and a half decades on the edge.
A Last Name That Opened Doors
The Guinle family had controlled, since 1882, the concession of the Port of Santos, at the time the main channel for exporting Brazilian coffee.
The revenue was so high that the patriarchs invested in real estate, railroads, energy, and the legendary Copacabana Palace, inaugurated in 1923. It was there that Jorginho grew up, surrounded by the Carioca elite and international celebrities.
The Routine of Someone Who “Never Worked”
As an adult, the playboy liked to assert that he had never worked. He lived off generous allowances, stayed in presidential suites, and traveled the world in friends’ private jets.
In Los Angeles, he became a regular at the studios of 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and MGM. He presented himself as an informal ambassador of Brazil and secured prime spots on film sets and in dressing rooms.
Magazine-Worthy Achievements
Between one trip and another, Jorginho collected romances with names that still inhabit pop culture today. Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Jayne Mansfield, Kim Novak, and Rita Hayworth appear in lists that he himself recounted, often with numbers, dates, and details that existed only in his memory.
Even those who doubted the exaggerations recognized the magnetism of the Carioca man, just 1.60 m tall, always well-dressed, speaking four languages, and ordering champagne by the first name of the waiter.
Jazz, Cars, and Copacabana
It wasn’t just the romantic life that consumed the fortune. Jorginho maintained collections of classic cars, paid for dinners with jazz musicians, with Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong being frequent guests, and funded nights that ended at sunrise.
He even wrote “Jazz Panorama”, the first book on the genre published in Brazil, and financed recordings of artists who were still unknown in the 40s.
The Bill That Didn’t Close
For three decades, the family portfolio generated enough dividends to cover all the ostentation.
But in 1972, the concession of the Port of Santos expired. Without the “gold mine” and without productive investments, the cash flow dried up.
Little by little, Jorginho sold paintings, cars, and even his collection of miniature electric trains.
Divorces and Heirs
He married four times. He had three children. The firstborn, Jorge Eduardo Guinle Filho, became a renowned plastic artist but died of AIDS in 1987.
The death of his son shook the playboy, although he never admitted it in public. The pensions, settlements, and apartments given to ex-wives also reduced his financial reserves.
When Glamour Becomes a Favor
In the 90s, Jorginho was living on a modest retirement from Social Security and the help of friends, such as businessman Baby Monteiro de Carvalho.
He lived as a guest in a room at the Copacabana Palace, the same hotel that had belonged to his family. There he received visitors, gave autographs, and told the same stories with intact charm.
Advertisements and Late Appearances
To supplement his income, he accepted unusual advertising jobs: starred in a national whiskey advertisement in the 60s, was a spokesperson for lingerie in the 2000s, and participated in luxury real estate campaigns. However, no fee came close to the expenses of old.
The Outcome in His “Private” Heaven
In March 2004, at the age of 88, in fragile health and carrying only a few old photos, Jorginho asked to leave the hospital where he was admitted. He wanted to spend his last days in suite 153 of the Copacabana Palace, his definition of “heaven.”
The night before his death, he had chicken stroganoff for dinner, drank a vanilla milkshake, and listened to Coltrane. He passed away at four in the morning, in the white sheets of the former family empire, without fortune and without regrets.
The Legacy of a Professional Spender
For many, Jorginho Guinle symbolizes waste and futility. For others, he represents extreme freedom, typical of a time when privileges seemed endless. He himself left the lesson, written in a joking tone, but loaded with truth:
“The secret to living well is to die with not a penny in your pocket. But I miscalculated and the money ran out before the time“
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