At fifteen he completed secondary education at the Jesuit run Colegio San Pedro Claver, and moved to Medellín to study civil engineering at the School of Mines at the National University of Colombia, graduating in 1951.
[1] He then began work in the soft drink business as a Plant Manager for Gaseosas LUX, entrusted with production and expansion in the city of Cali.
[citation needed] The commercial success with Gaseosas LUX allowed them to gradually acquire shares in the company Postobón, S.A., which made a popular drink, Kola Champaña.
He was chosen as "The Entrepreneur of the Twentieth Century" by a group of eleven business school deans in Colombia, and received commendations from King of Spain Juan Carlos I including honorary Spanish citizenship.
He was listed as one of the richest men in Latin America, and appeared on several occasions in Forbes magazine, with his capital assets estimated at over 1 billion dollars.