president of Venezuela. He later helped the Chávez administration raise funds to finance Venezuela's budget. According to the United States Department of State, Vargas was "said to have made a profit off those negotiations" and was described as "a banker whose star has risen greatly during the Chávez presidency". Vargas is alleged to have made background deals with the Chávez government, those close to Vargas denied that he had received special treatment from Chávez. In 2008, Vargas' bank, Banco Occidental de Descuento (BOD), agreed to buy Banco de Venezuela from its then-owner, Spanish bank Banco Santander. Vargas and his bank officials met with the appropriate finance officials in the Venezuelan government, and the officials approved the purchase. Vargas's BOD then put a $700 million down payment toward the purchase. Soon after, President Hugo Chavez went on national TV and announced he was pushing BOD aside and buying the bank himself, on behalf of the Venezuelan government. BOD lost the $700 million deposit. Banco Santander refused to refund it. A Spanish court ordered the refund, but Spain's equivalent of the Supreme Court overturned that order. Through it all, a 2008 Wall Street Journal article characterized Vargas and Venezuela's other wealthy elites as having "durability...no matter who is in power." Vargas was later assisted by the Venezuelan government for abiding by their policies during the Venezuelan banking crisis of 2009–10, when more than a half-dozen competing private banking institutions were closed. Vargas's survival strategy, he says, is to remain "agnostic about politics": "A businessman has to deal with his government, no matter how far to the right or left it is". In May 2013, it was alleged that Vargas purchased Cadena Capriles, with its criticism of the Venezuelan government declining afterward. BOD Financial Group Vargas owns BOD Financial Group (Spanish: Grupo Financiero BOD), an umbrella company that owns Vargas's businesses. BOD Financial owns companies in three major market sectors: banking, capital markets, and insurance. Philanthropy and civic activities In 2011, Vargas launched the Entrepreneur Program, a non-profit organization that helps people start small businesses. The program targets entrepreneurs who are not able to get funding from traditional banking sources. In its first phase in July 2011, the program selected and trained 100 entrepreneurs. The program provides funding for cultural and educational initiatives targeted at disadvantaged communities. Since 2002, the program has invested $20 million in these initiatives. For example, the program funded