The renowned Uruguayan shipbuilding entrepreneur Alberto Dodero – Aristotle Onassis’s mentor – built "Villa Betalba" at he beginning of World War II and settled there with his second wife, the American vedette Elizabeth “Betty” Lundmark.
Designed by architects Raúl Clerc and Héctor A. Guerra, it was in the 1940s of the XX century a meeting place between the international jet-set and the River Plate high society. In its rooms, Dodero held glamorous parties and receptions where he gathered Hollywood stars together with Eva Perón.
They have seen celebrities such as American former president Richard Nixon, actresses Joan Fontaine and Anne Bancroft, and the very same Aristotle Onassis who had stayed at the residence on several occasions and spent part of his honeymoon with his brand-new wife, Tina Livanos.
Indeed, the place has witnessed the political and cultural legacy of its time, and was emblem of its power and savoir-vivre.
After almost 80 years of history, this legendary residence was acquired in 2018 by a group of Uruguayan friends and entrepreneurs that turned it into "Betalba House".