About Samuel Klein (businessman)
Samuel Klein (15 November 1923 – 20 November 2014) was a Polish-Brazilian business magnate and philanthropist who founded the Casas Bahia chain of department stores in Brazil, building them into the top retailer in the country, and making him known in the 1990s as the "Sam Walton of Brazil". In 2013, Forbes ranked him 78th richest person in Brazil with a personal net worth of $835 million, while his son, Michael, was ranked 87th with $723 million. Following his death in 2014 Klein has faced numerous accusations of sex trafficking, rape and exploitation of minors. == Life and work == === Early life === Klein was born in Zaklików, Poland, the third of nine children. At 19, Klein worked as a joiner at the time of the Nazi German invasion of Poland in World War II, when he was taken to the Maidanek concentration camp along with his father. His mother and five younger siblings were sent to the extermination camp of Treblinka. He was later transported to Auschwitz in 1944. He escaped from the soldiers on 22 July 1944; in his own words, "I didn't know where I was going, but I was certain to get far from the group." He spent the night in the fields, where some Christian Poles, also fugitives, helped him flee. He managed to return to his old house, which was occupied by local Poles, who told him "that's what happens in war times, what is your today becomes someone else's tomorrow", and called a police officer claiming Samuel was invading his property which led him to spend a night in custody. Samuel worked on a small farm in the area in exchange for food and room.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.