SAN ANTONIO – Carlos Alvarez, a major philanthropist and entrepreneur who founded The Gambrinus Co., a San Antonio-based business whose holdings include the Spoetzl Brewery and Shiner beer, has died.
He was 73 years old.
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Alvarez, a native of Mexico, moved his family to San Antonio, which has felt the impact of his generosity. In 2021, he, along with wife Malú Alvarez, committed $20 million to the University of Texas at San Antonio to advance the institution’s research capabilities.
In recognition, UTSA renamed its College of Business the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, making it the first named college at UTSA.
“The fact that they’ve stepped up at this time, during a pandemic, tells the world that we are worth investing in,” UTSA President Taylor Eighmy at the time, calling Alvarez’ support a “a catalytic event.”
UTSA named Alvarez a co-chair of its Campaign Leadership Council. He played an influential role in the university’s $500 million capital campaign, helping inspire other giving.
He followed up the $20 million contribution with a $2 million gift to establish the Tom C. Frost Distinguished University Chair for Business Excellence. He pointed to Frost was a friend and mentor.
“Tom Frost was extremely generous with the time, attention and advice he gave me,” Alvarez said, “I guess he took an interest in supporting a young Mexican entrepreneur doing business in the U.S.”
Upon Alvarez’s passing Eighmy said, “As an institution, we wouldn’t be where we are today without Carlos’ passion for helping our students invest in their dreams, just as he did for himself and his family.”
Other institutions have benefited from Alvarez’s generosity. In 2022, The Impetus Foundation, led by Alvarez and his family, contributed $1 million to the Remember the Alamo Foundation. The gift will support the preservation and restoration of the Alamo grounds as part of a larger transformation of the historic area.
Alvarez contributed a similar amount through the same foundation two years prior to expand the work of Community Labs, a San Antonio nonprofit that was created in 2020 to provide high-volume, rapid assurance Covid testing in the region.
In 2018, the University of the Incarnate Word established the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Endowed Student Scholarship in recognition of a million-dollar gift from the Impetus Foundation.
“Carlos Alvarez was a generous philanthropist and supporter of higher education. He helped nourish the economic and cultural ties between our community and Mexico,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg stated in a social media post on Wednesday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Click here to read the full story in the San Antonio Business Journal.
Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.