His wealth is prodigious. He controls 15 companiesranging from a cement combine to a paper and pulp plantwhose annual sales exceed $100 million, and his personal fortune is estimated to be at least $25 million. But Venezuela's courtly Eugenio Mendoza, 56, is more than his country's leading industrialist; he is also its leading philanthropist. Says he: "We businessmen always talk about the need to make dividends for our shareholders, but we must also create a dividend for the community."
As early as 1934, Mendoza granted bonuses and set up profit sharing for his workers; today, his 5,000 employees receive nearly...