Obit: Emilio Botin, the conquistador of Spanish banking (Santander)

``The Botin family's influence over Santander hasn't escaped criticism, however. Though the family owns only 2 percent of the bank's stock, there have been three members, including Botin, on the board. Botin's reputation also took a hit in 2011 when the family paid 200 million euros in penalties to avoid charges of tax evasion related to a secret Swiss bank account. The case was doubly embarrassing as it was revealed that the money was kept in rival bank HSBC. ''