Roberto Marinho (1904–2003) was a Brazilian journalist and entrepreneur, founder of Organizações Globo, the world's second-largest media conglomerate comprising newspapers, radio stations such as Ràdio Globo and Radio CBN, and television networks, including Rede Globo, Brazil's leading television channel. He was presented with the Magna Grecia International Award in 2000 during the fourth edition of the Magna Grecia International Week, organized in Rio de Janeiro by the International Association bearing the same name and chaired by President Nino Foti.

Roberto Marinho was born in Rio de Janeiro, to a Portuguese father and an Italian mother; as soon as he came of age he was one of the very first promoters of the tenentist movement, a political-military movement against the government of the Oligarchic Republic. At the beginning of the 20s in Brazil, he took part in the revolt of the 18 of Fort Copacabana in 1922, the first of a series of protests that led to the end of the so-called "Old Republic".

His father, Irineu Marinho, was a famous journalist and publisher. He founded the newspapers "A Noite" in 1911 and O GLOBO in 1925, but on August 21 of that same year, shortly after the launch of the newspaper, he died. Roberto Marinho, the eldest son, had followed the entire process of GLOBO founding as his father's secretary, but, at the age of 21, he considered himself too inexperienced to take over the newspaper. After a family consultation, his widow Francisca Marinho proposed to the journalist Eurycles de Mattos to take over the position of editor-in-chief, with Roberto Marinho as his secretary. In the years that followed, Roberto Marinho worked to learn, from the workshop to the administration, the details of the newspaper's complex machine. In 1931, with the death of Eurycles de Mattos, the then twenty-six-year-old Roberto Marinho, took over the position of editor-in-chief of GLOBO, with the collaboration of his brothers, Ricardo and Rogério.

GLOBO, which today forms "Infoglobo" with "Extra" and "Expresso", was the starting point of the Organizações Globo group. In 1944, Marinho expanded into commercial radio, inaugurating Rádio Globo in Rio de Janeiro, with a primary focus on journalism.

In the 1960s, Marinho took his company to television, founding Rede Globo in 1965, which became Brazil's leading television network and the second largest in the world. Considered one of the richest men in South America and one of the most important media moguls in the world, Marinho led the holding company Organizações Globo to control not only the newspaper and TV Globo, but also a chain of radio stations, such as Rádio Globo and Rádio CBN, as well as many other cable TV channels. Today, Globo Television reaches almost every home in Brazil through 113 broadcasters and associates. With the production of soap operas, TV Globo capitalized on its reach, exporting many of the programs to various countries.

To maintain production and programming quality, Roberto Marinho invested in the creation of Projac (Jacarepaguá Project), which opened in 1995. It is the largest production center in Latin America, with ten studios, seven production modules and the most modern digital technology. From the 1930s Roberto Marinho showed interest in the field of publishing comics and general interest magazines and, in 1952, acquired Rio Gráfica Editora. Years later, with the purchase of Editora Globo, he also began to publish books, as well as nationally renowned magazines, such as the weekly "Época".

Aware of the importance of new technologies in the field of communication, the journalist also invested in the Internet by launching Globo.com in 1999, which covers news, sports and entertainment portals, and Virtua, a cable Internet access service. Marinho also entered the music and film industry with Globo Filmes, focused on film co-productions, and Globo Internacional, a Brazilian exporter of audiovisual productions to over 100 countries.

Since the 1940s, Roberto Marinho has been considered a national personality, and his commitment in a wide array of fields earned him national and international accolades and awards, including medals of the Order of Rio Branco and the Legion of Honor. Honorary Doctor from the Universities of Brasilia, Federal de Uberlândia, Federal do Rio Grande do Norte and Gama Filho. In 1983, he received the Television Personality of the Year (Emmy) award, presented by the U.S. National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences.

In addition to his role as a journalist and entrepreneur, his utmost commitment to Brazilian society has manifested itself in the numerous social actions promoted since 1961 by the Globo companies. Examples of such actions are projects like Help a Child to Study, Child Hope, Who Reads the News Know More, Aquarius Project, Friends of the School, and Global Action. Dedicated to education and culture, he created the Roberto Marinho Foundation in 1977, a private non-profit organization, with which he carried out numerous projects of education, conservation of cultural and environmental heritage, as well as the production of educational programs such as "Telecurso", "Globo Ciência" and "Globo Ecologia". In collaboration with private companies, the Foundation created Canal Futura, the first educational TV entirely financed by the private sector.

Passionate about art, Roberto Marinho started putting together his important collection in the 1930s, which today numbers over 600 works by artists such as Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, Tarsila do Amaral, José Pancetti, Guignard, Djanira and Lasar Segall.

He died in Rio de Janeiro in August 2003.