THE LIFE OF GEORGE ANTHONY

Born in Jackson Heights, Queens to immigrant parents, George Anthony Devolder Santos grew up in a tight-knit Queens family. His mother Fatima Devolder was born in Brazil to Belgian immigrants that fled the devastation of World War II Europe. His father Junior Santos also grew up in Brazil. Each emigrated to the United States as young adults, where they met, married and started a family.  

Having grown up in a variety of north Queens neighborhoods, George Anthony went to elementary school at PS 122 in Astoria, then attended IS 125 in Sunnyside. He began Horace Mann preparatory school in the Bronx, however, did not graduate from Horace Mann due to financial difficulties for his family. He obtained a GED during his senior year. He then went on to attend Baruch College and in 2010 graduated with a bachelor’s in economics and finance.  

After graduating George Anthony began working at Citigroup as an associate and quickly advanced to become an associate asset manager in the real asset division of the firm. Soon after he was offered a position at growing Turkish-based Tech hospitality firm Metglobal where he led business development efforts growing the US presence of the firm.  

George Anthony was then offered an exciting opportunity with Goldman Sachs but what he thought would be the pinnacle of his career was not as fulfilling as he had anticipated but was approached by his current employer, Linkbridge Investors, where he quickly advanced to become one of the youngest vice presidents in the industry. He now leads the Americas region business development team and has been given multiple awards and recognition for his achievements.  

George Anthony was instilled with a passion for philanthropy from an early age. His mother, who passed away in 2016, believed strongly in sharing with people less fortunate and never forgot the basic principles of why her family fled from Europe to Brazil, and why she then emigrated to America looking for a better life. She founded an institution in Brazil to help 312 impoverished families gain access to basic food necessities, providing non-perishable food monthly over a period of 18 years.  

In the mid-1990’s, his mother and four friends instituted a daily operation to distribute sandwiches around Northeast Queens to homeless individuals they would spot on the street. George Anthony began helping distribute these sandwiches beginning at the age of eight and continued until the effort ended with the passing of his mother and one other key member of the group.  

He and his family also engaged in helping children with EB-(Epidermolysis Bullosa) Through various nonprofit organizations across the country supporting children worldwide, they have been proud financers of organizations that help these children in remote parts of the world where they are denied basic hygiene to care for their wounds.  

Also passionate about animals and animal welfare, George Anthony founded and ran a nonprofit 501(c)(3) called Friends of Pets United (FOPU) from 2013 - 2018, an animal rescue operation, which was able to effectively rescue 2400 dogs and 280 cats, and successfully conducted the TNR (trap neuter and release) of over 3000 cats.  

In his spare time George Anthony enjoys volleyball and tennis and has entered numerous amateur tournaments across the Tri-state area. He is an avid reader and enjoys books ranging from science fiction to autobiographies.