1841–1933.

Nikola and Evgenija Kiki

Millionaires who left everything to Belgrade

Aromanian thrift and a Serbian heart

Nikola D. Kiki (1841–1918), of Aromanian origin from a famous merchant family, and his wife Evgenija Naumović Kiki (1855–1933), are remembered as one of the richest and most humane couples in the history of Belgrade. They married in 1870 and devoted their whole lives to acquiring wealth, but not for themselves, for the people.

Nikola died just before the end of the First World War, leaving all his property by will to the Belgrade Merchant Youth. However, the key role was played by Evgenija. Although she had only the right of usufruct over the property, in the difficult post-war years this exceptional woman managed not only to preserve the capital but to multiply it many times over. She also added the entire property of her parents to the fund.

“The fund of the Nikola and Evgenija Kiki Endowment was estimated at a dizzying 20 million dinars of the time in gold and real estate.”

What did they leave?

Their legacy is colossal: the family house and shop in Kralja Petra Street, a palace in Knez Mihailova Street, plots on the site of today’s Ethnographic Museum, as well as funds for the construction of the Trade School and the Hospital in Zvečanska Street. They were a true example of how personal wealth is turned into the common good.