Marcos Galperin
Marcos Galperin | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Marcos Galperin en 2024. | |
| Born | Marcos Eduardo Galperin Lebach 31 October 1971 |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania Stanford University |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, executive |
| Known for | Co-founder of Mercado Libre |
| Title | Executive Chairman (designate), former CEO of Mercado Libre |
| Spouse | Karina |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Silvia Julia Lebach Ernesto Galperin |
| Awards | Premio Konex |
Marcos Eduardo Galperin Lebach (born in Buenos Aires, Argentina; October 31, 1971) is an Argentine businessman and technology entrepreneur, best known as co-founder of Mercado Libre. He led the company as Chief Executive Officer for more than two decades and became Executive Chairman on January 1, 2026. With an estimated net worth of about US$9.3 billion (as of 2025), he is widely regarded as Argentina’s richest individual.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Marcos Eduardo Galperin Lebach was born on October 31, 1971 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a wealthy family of Jewish descent.[2] He is the fourth of five sons of Ernesto Galperin and Silvia Julia Lebach. His family owned SADESA, one of the world’s largest leather manufacturing companies.[1]
Galperin attended St. Andrew's Scots School in Olivos, where he played rugby and joined tours to Australia and New Zealand. He later studied finance at the Wharton School in the United States, graduating with a BA in 1994.[3] After returning to Argentina to work briefly – including at YPF – he completed an MBA at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in 1999.[4]
He married Karina on March 11, 2000, and they have three children.[5] Since 2002, he has lived mainly in Uruguay, dividing his time between Montevideo and Punta del Este. He briefly returned to Argentina during the Macri administration (2015–2019), but later moved back to Uruguay for its business-friendly environment.[6]
He is a supporter of Club Atlético Independiente.[7]
Career
[edit]In 1999, while at Stanford University, Galperin co-founded Mercado Libre with classmates and mentors from the Graduate School of Business. Originally designed as a Latin American version of eBay, it grew into a leading regional platform for e-commerce and fintech, including Mercado Pago (payments), Mercado Crédito (loans), Mercado Envíos (logistics) and Mercado Ads (marketing).[8]
Under his leadership, Mercado Libre became Latin America’s largest publicly listed technology company. He has been recognised with the Konex Award (2008) and the Platinum Konex Award (2018) as one of Argentina’s most influential business figures.[9]
He also served on the board of Globant until 2020.[10] In 2023, he co-founded the Miami Sharks, a professional rugby union team based in Miami, Florida, and became one of its principal investors.[11]. He also appears in the directory of Peter Thiel's Dialog organization.[12]
Leadership transition
[edit]On May 21, 2025, Mercado Libre announced that Galperin would step down as CEO at the end of the year after 26 years in the role.[13] Ariel Szarfsztejn, head of the commerce division, will succeed him as CEO on January 1, 2026, while Galperin becomes Executive Chairman.[14][needs update]
In a letter to employees, he said he would remain focused on long-term strategy, capital allocation, corporate culture and AI-driven innovation.[15] Media coverage in 2025 highlighted Mercado Libre’s investment in artificial intelligence for credit risk, payments and logistics.[16]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Marcos Galperin – Profile 2025". Forbes. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ↑ "Latin American retail giant purges site of antisemitic content". i24NEWS. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ↑ "Meet Argentina's richest man". The Economist. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ↑ "MercadoLibre CEO Galperin to step back after 26 years at the helm". Reuters. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ↑ "El argentino más rico del país: cómo Marcos Galperin construyó su imperio en un garaje". Clarín. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ↑ "Marcos Galperin, íntimo: cómo es la vida a la uruguaya del hombre más rico de la Argentina". Letra P. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ↑ "La tarde que Independiente juntó a Ricardo Bochini con Marcos Galperin". Soy Del Rojo. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ↑ "Mercado Libre Founders: It Takes Patience and Resilience". Stanford Graduate School of Business Insights. Stanford Graduate School of Business. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Marcos Galperin – Platinum Konex Award". Fundación Konex. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
- ↑ "Marcos Galperin Net Worth (2022) – Wallmine". Wallmine. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ↑ "Miami Sharks: el empresario más rico de Argentina y un grupo de socios compraron un equipo de rugby en EE.UU". Infobae. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ↑ Roeloffs, Mary Whitfill. "What We Know About Peter Thiel's Secret Society 'Dialog'—And Who's In It". Forbes. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ↑ "MercadoLibre CEO Galperin to step back after 26 years at the helm". Reuters. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ↑ "MercadoLibre CEO Galperin Steps Aside to Executive Chairman". Bloomberg. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ↑ "CEO Transition – A Letter from Marcos Galperin to Mercado Libre Employees". Mercado Libre Investor Relations. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ↑ "Mercado Libre Executives Say AI is Key Focus". PYMNTS. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.