Oliver Pereira wrote:
Since I've only just heard of these people, I may be getting this wrong, but it seems from what I've been reading that there are two different Safras being discussed here. The chap who died in the fire was Edmond Jacob Safra (August 6, 1931 or 1932 - December 3, 1999), while the chap who bought the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" is his nephew Jacob Safra (born c. 1950), who as far as I can tell is still alive...
Ah, this warrants further investigation, then.
Perhaps Jacob could get excited about much cheaper philanthropy to generate a superior result. He could close the operation of Britannica, give the Wikimedia Foundation 1/10th of what he expects to lose, and authorize us to use the name.
I'll be the new Mortimer Adler, it'll be fun.
--Jimbo