Top 200 Collectors

In 2019, Orlando Bravo broke new ground when he became the first Puerto Rican to rank on Forbes’s list of billionaires. He has remained on that list ever since, and his wealth has only grown. His fortune was made in the world of private equity investments, where he has earned a reputation for his strong business acumen. Yet it wasn’t always clear that Bravo would have a career in that world.

Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Bravo displayed a knack for tennis as a teen, even ranking at #40 on a list of the best 15- and 16-year-old players in the US. His tennis career ended when he was an undergraduate at Brown University, but he has said the sport instilled in him a diligence that has stuck with him throughout his career.

In 1997, Carl Thoma—who has himself has appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list—hired Bravo for his private equity firm. It would become a fateful decision, as the two would go on to split that firm in 2008 and form their own. Their firm, Thoma Bravo, continues to exhibit its might and, in 2023, even brought the technology company Coupa Software private, acquiring it for $6.15 billion. That same year, Thoma Bravo was one of the firms that faced a lawsuit over its alleged involvement in raising the profile of FTX, the fallen cryptocurrency exchange. Thoma Bravo had reportedly invested $130 million in the entity that operated FTX.

Has Thoma’s collecting bug rubbed off on Bravo? All signs would point to yes, although Bravo has been much less public about what he buys than Thoma, who is known for purchasing digital art, art of the Spanish Americas, and more.

Bravo has, however, not been shy about promoting his philanthropy, which included putting $10 million toward Puerto Ricans who were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2021 through his Bravo Family Foundation. Bravo had also previously given $100 million to the foundation several years earlier to support economic development in Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, the foundation has given back to his alma mater. In 2019, the foundation gifted $25 million to Brown University, where there is now a center for economic research in Bravo’s name.