SOUMAYA DOMIT GEMAYEL: BIOGRAPHY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Soumaya Domit Gemayel (1948-1999) was a Mexican philanthropist and patron of Lebanese origin, who helped students and all kinds of artists to fulfill their dreams. She was the perfect advisor for businessman Carlos Slim, whom she would marry at 17.

One of Soumaya Domit's most outstanding contributions was the creation of a legal framework for organ donation. She became interested in this topic because she suffered from kidney failure, a disease that would ultimately cost her her life at age 51. It is also noted that she wrote several manuals regarding organ donation.

Source: who.com

Childhood and early years

Soumaya Domit was born in Mexico City in 1948. His family had emigrated from Lebanon where several of his relatives held leading political positions, beginning with his uncle Amin Gemayel, president of Lebanon between 1982 and 1988.

His parents decided to settle in Mexico City, in the Chapultepec-Polanco subdivision, since the Lebanese immigrants lived there and were already becoming a new development force. The idea of ​​his father, Antonio Domit, was to be a pioneer of the footwear industry in Mexico, alongside his brothers, Soumaya's uncles.

The house they arrive at when they arrive from Bechele was located on the street dedicated to Emilio Castelar. The construction of this building was between 1939 and 1940. Since then the family lived there. Soumaya was born in 1948 and he spent his childhood in this house, which was characterized by his love of sports, practicing it passionately at the Asunción school.

Marriage

Coincidentally, his mother, Lili Gemayel, became friends with Carlos's mother, as they were both of Lebanese-Mexican descent. This is how the ties between the families began, but it was only in 1966 that Soumaya decided to marry the tycoon. By this year she was 17 and he was 26.

From then on, she became his right hand man, the person who would advise him for many years when undertaking different businesses, such as the creation of the Inbursa and Carso groups, the latter company bearing the initials of both.

Philanthropy

Apart from that, Soumaya Domit was primarily concerned with others, and, thanks to his prestige in Lebanon and having the resources, he decided to dedicate himself to philanthropy. It is known that he often helped students who did not have enough money to pay for their studies, especially people from the lower class.

He also collaborated by bringing medical aid to indigenous Mexicans who lived in remote places and who were discovered by the health systems. There were not a few artists and intellectuals who were supported by Soumaya.

This love for art was shared with her husband Carlos Slim, who, years after the death of his wife, would create a museum in her memory with renowned pieces by Monet, Picasso, Dalí, Van Gogh, among thousands of pieces of a high value to the art world.

Offspring

Along with the tireless charitable work she undertook and the accompaniment of her husband, those years of marriage brought for both of them the happiness represented in six children, three boys and three girls: Carlos, Johanna, Marco Antonio, Patrick, Soumaya and Vanessa.

Over the years the Slim Domit family grew in such a way that, apart from their sons and daughters, they had 18 grandchildren and several multi-million dollar companies that brought them a promising future. The couple was admired and recognized throughout Mexico and their children were able to access the best education possible.

Sickness and death

Although Soumaya was happy with her husband for more than 30 years, she could not survive a great battle that had her life, kidney failure. This disease had already been suffered by several of her relatives: her father and brother had died as a result of it.

Although his children were older, surely Soumaya left many projects started, because even months before he died his physical and mental deterioration took away many strengths. He died at the age of 51.

Important businessmen and politicians came to the Slim house as soon as they found out about Soumaya's death. People such as former president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Emilio Azcárraga Jean, intellectuals, bankers and people close to the culture who recognized Soumaya's unique legacy were accompanying the businessman.

After Soumaya's death, Slim decided to continue his philanthropic legacy and support various charitable causes. The love that Slim professed for his wife is known today, since he did not remarry and, within his hectic life as an entrepreneur, he always reserves a space for his memory and undertakes projects that remember his love for others.

The legacy: the Soumaya Museum

The love of art that Soumaya Domit professed all her life can be seen today reflected in thousands of collectibles that Carlos Slim managed to gather since the 1960s. The knowledge, for example in sculpture and painting, that she had was key at the time the tycoon acquired these pieces.

The first headquarters of the Soumaya Museum was built around 1994, when she was still living, but it would only be in 2011 that the headquarters in which the building is erected would open today, a non-profit institution that pays tribute to this great woman who gave his life for art and gave himself to others.

The structure of the current headquarters was designed by his son-in-law, husband of his daughter Soumaya. The inauguration gala was attended by leading cultural figures such as Oscar de la Renta, Larry King, former Spanish President Felipe González and the Colombian Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez.

On a tour of the Soumaya Museum, visitors can appreciate from works dating back to 400 BC. C. to art from the 15th and 17th centuries, different pieces and paintings by both South American and European artists.

There are, for example, metals such as gold and silver, which had great importance for the formation of Mexico. There are also landscapes and masterpieces by artists such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

References

1. Editors, TheFamousPeople. (2018). Soumaya Domit Gemayel Biography. Recovered from thefamouspeople.com
2. Loaeza, G. Childhood is destiny. Mexico: Aguilar, 2012.
3. Martínez, J. The secrets of the richest man in the world. Carlos Slim. Mexico: Ocean Express, 2013.
4. NSS Oaxaca. (2017). The tragic love story of Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico. Recovered from nssoaxaca.com
5. Wikipedia. (sf). Soumaya Museum. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org