built his fortune between 1941 and 1945, making loans at the National Bank of Commerce, Bank of Rio Grande do Sul and Bank of Brazil, using as collateral all the cattle he had. With this he generated a fortune in cattle, in 1946, of US$506,630.001. Despite ascending to this position, he was a kind man with his employees and humble with those in need, and he did not accept any kind of discrimination. Political career Sent back to Porto Alegre after graduating from high school, Goulart attended law school to satisfy his father, who desired that he earn a degree. While there, Goulart restored contact with his youth friends Abadé Ayub and Salvador Arísio, and made new friends and explored the state capital's nightlife. It was during that time of a bohemian lifestyle that Goulart acquired a venereal disease, syphilis, which paralyzed his left knee almost entirely. He paid for expensive medical treatment, including a surgery in São Paulo, but he expected that he would never walk normally again. Because of the paralysis of his knee, Goulart graduated separately from the rest of his class in 1939. He would never fully practice law. After graduating, Goulart returned to São Borja. According to Yolanda Goulart, his depression because of the leg problem was visible. He isolated himself at Yguariaçá Farm. According to his sister Yolanda, his depression did not last long. In the early 1940s, he decided to make fun of his own walking disability in the Carnival, participating in the parade of the block Comigo Ninguém Pode. Beginning at PTB Goulart's father died in 1943, and he inherited rural properties that made him one of the most influential estancieiros of the region. Upon the resignation of President Getúlio Vargas and his return to São Borja in October 1945, Goulart was already a wealthy man. He did not need to enter politics to rise socially, but the frequent meetings with Vargas, a close friend of his father, were decisive in Goulart's pursuit of a public life. The first invitation Goulart received to enter a political party was made by Protásio Vargas, Getúlio's brother, who was in charge of organizing the Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrático – PSD) in São Borja. Goulart declined but later accepted Getúlio Vargas's invitation to join the Brazilian Labour Party (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro – PTB). He was the first president of the local PTB, and would