Julio Gerlein Echeverria is the proprietor of the Valores y Contratos construction firm (Valorcon).
He has played a key role in the traditional Barranquilla family’s consolidation of power.
Roberto Gerlein, a conservative politician, is his younger brother. Julio has become a superpower in public procurement, while Roberto has cycled through ministries and held Senate seats for more than 40 years.
Who is Julio Gerlein? -Wikipedia Explored
Unlike his brother Roberto Gerlein, Julio Gerlein does not have his own Wikipedia page. However, we obtained information about him from a variety of sources.
Valorcon was founded in 1992, and Julio Gerlein’s business owns a 49 percent part in the consortium that won the contract in 2000, during Bernardo ‘the priest’ Hoyos’ second term as mayor.
Until 2022, the business group will be responsible for road maintenance and construction.
Aquí tiene pruebas, fiscal Barbosa. ¿Se necesitan más para que la Fiscalía investigue, o aún no es suficiente?
Revelan conversación: Julio Gerlein admite haber dado $12.000 millones a Aída Merlano https://t.co/WElw9nRRl3
— Iván Cepeda Castro (@IvanCepedaCast) February 11, 2022
In 2014 Julio was the king of mega contracts. Valorcon participated in the consortiums that won three of the ten largest projects in the country: with the Brazilian company Oderbrecht, they signed a 1,237 million contract to recover the navigability of the Magdalena River.
Although Julio Gerlein has never officially been involved in politics, he is Roberto’s biggest financial backer and the promoter of the conservative representative Aida Merlano ‘s career.
It is known then that since Valorcon, the engineer is a fundamental piece of the political influence of his clan. The natural heir is his son, the lawyer Julio Eduardo Gerlein Villa, who already occupies a high position in the construction firm.
Julio Gerlein Family
Julio Gerlein is from a very powerful family. The maternal grandfather was Esparquio González, one of the region’s most powerful conservative leaders. The Gerleins have been a dynasty, one of Barranquilla’s superpowers, for more than a century.
Julio was born two years after Roberto, in 1940. He studied civil engineering at the University of Javeriana and began his career in construction with projects like the Laguito de Cartagena and buildings in the sector like El Conquistador and Bavaria.
The head of the family, Roberto Gerlein, refused to give her his spot in the Senate when he retired because of her “commoner” background, so Julio allied with the Char family. pic.twitter.com/KaR5sdTKXJ
— JDSA ?? (@TheCandelarian) February 5, 2022
At the end of the 19th century, his wife, Amira Comeln, was the first president of the Barranquilla Carnival.
The first of their children was named after Julio Gerlein Comeln, the creator of Barranquilla’s free zone. Enrique, his brother, was the father of the senator and contractor who now wields the family’s power.
Julio Gerleim Net Worth
Valorcon is one of Columbia’s largest construction companies. Julio’s net worth is likely to be quite large because he owns the company.
He has become the company’s major contractor as a civil engineer.
However, there is no mention of his financial worth in the media.