From the late 1930s to 1960, when he left Cuba to go into exile, Lobo was considered the single most powerful sugar broker in the world.
At the time of the success of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Lobo's fortune was estimated at close to US$200 million (US$1.8 billion in 2020).
His assets then included 16 sugar mills, over 30,000 acres of land, a bank, an insurance company, and offices in Havana, New York City, London, Madrid, and Manila.
Lobo was born in Caracas (Venezuela) to a father of Sephardi Jewish descent and a Catholic mother, and grew up in Havana, Cuba.
Many of the books and manuscripts from Lobo's collection were moved to the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí.