Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, Viscount of Mauá

Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, the Viscount of Mauá was a Brazilian entrepreneur, industrialist, banker and politician. Born to a family of small estancieiros, Sousa became one of the world's richest men; by 1867, his wealth was larger than the annual budget of the Brazilian Empire. He was called the Rothschild of the South American continent by the New York Times in 1871. He received the titles of baron and visconde com grandeza of Mauá. A pioneer in several areas of the economy of Brazil, one of his greatest achievements was to start the construction of the Mauá Railroad, the first railroad in Brazil.

At his peak, Sousa controlled eight of the country's ten largest companies; his banking interests stretched over to Britain, France, the United States and Argentina. Mauá also founded the first bank in Uruguay.