Virgilio Arturo Guma

September 3, 1939 – September 21, 2026

Coral Gables, Florida — Virgilio Arturo Gumá passed away at his home in Coral Gables on September 22, 2026. Born in Havana, Cuba, on September 3, 1939, to Cuban industrialist Virgilio Arturo Gumá San Pedro and Maria Teresa San Pedro de Gumá, he lived life on a grand scale. He was a stoic man of principle, armed with an adventurous spirit, sharp wit, and a deeply generous heart.

From his earliest days, the world was his classroom. He attended English boarding school in Jamaica and completed military high school in Natchez, Mississippi, in the late 1950s. Although he attended the University of Tulsa, he spent his summers at his parents’ yacht club, El Club Náutico, in La Guaira, Venezuela. There, he met the love of his life, Consuelo Valencia. They married on December 18, 1958, beginning a shared devotion that spanned just shy of sixty-five years.

Virgilio took his first steps in business with Pan American World Airways in Caracas, but the fast-moving currents of the energy sector soon claimed his focus. When Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, he looked north. In 1976, he, Consuelo, and their 4 children, left San Antonio de Los Altos, and landed in Miami. What was intended as a temporary pause quickly turned into a brand new chapter.

He was an old-school oil trader and a restless entrepreneur who operated on instinct, grit, and handshakes. Long before mobile phones existed, he was famous for pulling a long extension cord straight to his restaurant table, conducting international energy trades between courses. He rose to become President of Vitol’s U.S. operations, stepping down in 1992 to return to Miami and co-found Petrolea Oil Corp. in Coral Gables alongside his partner, Jose Arellano. By the turn of the century, he was widely regarded as a dean of the physical oil markets, later launching Oil Trading Consultants in 2000 to counsel major oil corporations, institutions, and investment banks. Alongside Consuelo, he also built G Properties, a flourishing family real estate enterprise.

Yet for all his deals, his real work was giving. He funded educations, quietly backed family ventures, and extended a helping hand to all who crossed his path, giving anyway with an open hand and an amused grin. Out on the water, his soul was at peace. A member of Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo since 1980, the marina and the open ocean were where the family gathered every summer.

Virgilio was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Consuelo, and his younger brother, Juan Manuel. He is survived by his four children: Marie Oiligriv Guma-Diaz and her husband, Dr. George Carlos Diaz; Virgilio Arturo Jr. and his wife, Kelly Kimmel; Marie Geraldine Gumá; and Johanna Marie Guma-Aguiar and her husband, Felipe Aguiar; his sister; eleven cherished grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His table was always wide enough for more, leaving behind an army of godchildren, unofficial sons, and lifelong confidants who called him a mentor and friend.

He lived with unshakable faith, quiet courage, and an enduring devotion to his family. His life was vast, his laughter was infectious, and his legacy remains anchored in the people he loved and lifted along the way.