Iris Fontbona and her family are ranked No. 35 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $52.6 billion. She is the wealthiest person in Chile and controls the mining company Antofagasta with her family.
Iris Balbina Fontbona González was born in 1942 or 1943 and is a Chilean mining magnate and businesswoman. She is the widow of Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, from whom she inherited Antofagasta PLC.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 35, with $52.6 billion, listed as “Iris Fontbona & family”
- In Chile: she is the wealthiest person in the country, according to Wikipedia, and was the fourth wealthiest in Latin America
Inheritance
Her husband, Andrónico Luksic Abaroa, died of cancer in 2005. The bulk of his business went to their three sons, Guillermo, Jean Paul and Andrónico. Jean Paul manages Antofagasta, the Luksic Group’s copper mining arm. Her son Andrónico Luksic Craig runs much of the wider group, but major decisions need Fontbona’s approval, according to Wikipedia.
The Business Group
- Antofagasta: the Santiago-based mining company that the family controls
- Quiñenco: through this listed holding company the family controls Banco de Chile, the copper products maker Madeco, the brewer CCU and the shipping company CSAV
- Media: after her husband’s death she acquired a 70% stake in the Chilean television station Canal 13
Philanthropy
In 2015 Fontbona gave a record 3.1 billion Chilean pesos (about $3.9 million) to Chile’s annual Teletón, which raises money for children with physical disabilities. In 2016 she gave 4.4 billion pesos (about $5.5 million), which helped set a fundraising record for the event.
Why It Matters
The Luksic family’s holdings span copper, banking, brewing and shipping, which makes it one of the most powerful business families in Chile.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: The seafront of Antofagasta, the Chilean city and region that give the family’s mining company its name (file photo, 2023; Iris Fontbona is not pictured). Photo: Cris.tbl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
