Article: Chilean Billionaire Ricardo Claro, 74

Ricardo Claro, 74, a Chilean billionaire and South American industrialist who was a leading force in dictator Augusto Pinochet's successful efforts to lure American investment back to Chile in the 1970s and 1980s, died Oct. 28 in the capital Santiago after a heart attack.

Mr. Claro established himself in the 1970s as part of the "piranhas," a circle of aggressive and socially connected businessmen from prominent families. He used his access to the Pinochet government to amass companies nationalized under socialist President Salvador Allende and turn them into spectacularly successful enterprises.

As chairman of the Claro Group, his best-known holdings were Compania Sudamericana de Vapores, ...

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