The Cuban-born businessman, Sergio Pinewas a prominent South Florida businessman and real estate magnate. His death was reported Tuesday, in a suspected suicidewhen the FBI came to raid his mansion on Isla Dorada Boulevard, Coral Gables, Miami.
This case has shocked the community because Pino was a well-known and respected philanthropist. His life story was an example for thousands of immigrants who must make their way in the United States and dream of achieving the triumphs he had achieved.
Sergio Pino, the Cuban immigrant who built an empire in Miami
Sergio Pino was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1956. He fled with his family to the United States when he was only 12 years old. They settled in a small apartment in Miami.
His family was humble but hard-working. His mother washed and ironed clothes, while his father, who had been a businessman in Cuba, worked in Florida as a plumber. Sergio began helping his family by cleaning carpets as a teenager.
He graduated from Miami High School in 1975. He attended Miami-Dade Community College for two years but did not continue his studies, instead choosing to start, with the help of his father, a plumbing store in Hialeah known as Century Plumbing.
The business was a success, it took off quickly and became the genesis of the great empire that Sergio Pino would build over the years in Miami, the Caribbean and South America, where he also triumphed under the name Century Wholesale.
By 1989, Sergio Pino had already amassed a fortune and enjoyed considerable prestige as a businessman in the United States. He became president of the Latin Builders Association, a construction group based in Coral Gables.
In 1997 he created the real estate holding company Century Partners Group, and also in this decade he founded Century Homebuilders Group, which has built more than 16,000 homes in South Florida alone.
Through his companies, he has always maintained community engagement actions in South Florida, actively participating in various organizations and foundations.
In addition to being president of the Latin Builders Association, he was a member of the board of directors of Florida International University (FIU) and founder of US Century Bank, a project he would later abandon.
His companies supported educational, health and community programs at prestigious institutions such as the League Against Cancer, Miami Children’s Hospital and Jackson Memorial Hospital.
In his professional life he was under investigation by the authorities on several occasions, but they were never able to charge him with anything.
In 2002, a Miami-Dade County inspector general’s report criticized him for earning $14.6 million on an airport contract without performing any actual work. In 2006, a federal investigation linked him to a fishing trip to Cancun for Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, though charges were never filed.
Sergio Pino’s relations with Cuba
In September 2023, Sergio Pino received at his mansion in Coral Gables the delegation of some 70 Cuban entrepreneurs who visited Miami to meet with US officials and Cuban-American personalities.
He encouraged entrepreneurs to develop business projects with the United States to boost business development in the private sector in Cuba.
In May 2024 He warned that the Havana government will set traps to take advantage of the economic measures approved by the Joe Biden Administration, where the Treasury Department authorizes private entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the United States.
However, Sergio Pino believed that the Cuban people could also benefit from these measures. “The Havana regime will try to penetrate. Of course there will be traps, but these measures are still something positive,” he said.
Sergio and Tatiana Pino’s divorce
In 2022, the Cuban-American businessman’s private life took a turn when he began divorce proceedings with his second wife, Tatiana Pino. The 32-year marriage broke down for reasons that have not been disclosed to the press and she accused him of attempted murder, statements that he rejected and denied.
In recent months, Pino has been involved in a complicated litigation process over this case. Tatiana’s accusations sparked an investigation into his claims that he hatched a plan to poison her and threaten her sister.
On the morning of July 16, 2024, the FBI went to his mansion in Coral Gables to to raid the house and serve Sergio Pino with a warrant in connection with these allegations. The SWAT team entered the residence and found Pino dead in an upstairs bedroom.
Sergio Pino is remembered for his support of charitable causes and his commitment to the growth of the Cuban-American community in the United States. His company, Century Homebuilders Group, is a testament to his business vision and dedication to community development in South Florida.