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Remembering a longtime Leavey legend who left his mark across six decades.

In his six decades teaching at the Leavey School of Business, Mario Belotti spoke about the “multiplier effect” many times.

For an esteemed economist like Belotti, the multiplier effect refers to the idea that one small change to a single economic variable may lead to many changes elsewhere. For example, when consumer spending goes up, it can affect everything from business expansion to rising wages to, ultimately, the GDP.

In his long life, Belotti had his own metaphoric multiplier effect on everyone around him. Think of the countless students who studied under him from 1959 to 2019 and then carried their newfound wisdom out into the business world. Picture him holding court at the Adobe Lodge during his daily lunches with colleagues, who listened just as attentively to his economic insights and they did to his stories of his boyhood in Italy and life as an immigrant in America. 

When he died Nov. 17, 2023, Belotti left behind his wife, Rose, three children, seven grandchildren, two great grandchildren — and a legacy of teaching and scholarship that lives on at Leavey. Below, Leavey faculty share their memories of a mentor and colleague.

Optimism and Openness

“He was optimistic to the core,” said Hersh Shefrin, who proudly holds the finance department chair named in Belotti’s honor. 

Whether the topic was environmental degradation in the late 1970s or the pandemic in the 2020s, Belotti’s optimism and faith in economics and human problem-solving won out over skepticism, despair, and stress. “Avoiding stress was, he said, the key to living longer,” Shefrin noted. “And he did live a long life, passing away at 97 and only retiring from teaching at age 93.”

Belotti’s optimism also helped others reduce their own stress. “ I could always count on him for sage advice about university matters, or a calming word when the stock market (and retirement accumulations!) gyrated wildly,” said Alex Field, professor of economics. 

There were plenty of things Belotti’s colleagues could count on. “Every day at 9:15 AM, the third-floor elevator signaled his arrival,” said Xiaojing Dong, associate professor of marketing and business analytics. A man of precision, Belotti would microwave his carefully selected coffee for exactly 41 seconds. 

Belotti’s colleagues also could count on openness and transparency. In fact, when asked to share memories of Belotti, the majority of respondents mentioned lunchtime conversation as a highlight.

“My first memories of Mario are from the daily lunches at the Faculty Club,” said Steve Smith, professor of information systems and analytics. Along with personal stories and lively discussion of economics and the topics of the day, Smith said Belotti offered a look into the world of academic administration. Belotti was chair of the economics department for 22 years, and he was open with colleagues about its operations. “I was impressed by how open and frank the discussions were when it came to university policies.” 

Belotti and his wife, Rose, whom he met on the ship that brought him to America, were also open with their personal space. They hosted New Year’s parties, complete with his own homemade red wine and grappa, that became annually anticipated affairs. So did their annual party for graduating seniors. He and Rose held their first such party in 1965.

“The party was a great success,” Belotti wrote in his memoir, It Was All For the Love of a Horse. “The students formed a greater bond with each other and with their professors, whom they were about to leave. The professors, maybe for the first time, recognized that the students were happy with what they had learned from each of them.”

Six decades worth of students experienced Belotti’s teaching style. It was energetic, enthusiastic, and simple — the latter because he refused to use notes, Powerpoints or other aids. Belotti’s voice and memory were the only tools he needed.

There’s a reason for that, said Mike Calegari, associate professor of accounting. “He spoke with a strong Italian accent, and when he first started teaching, he spoke directly to the students, without notes, so he could see if they had trouble understanding him,” Calegari said. “He was worried that if he read from overheads or notes, then he could not determine if the students understood what he said. Once he got into this habit, he did it all his remaining years.”

A Formidable Economist

Belotti’s teaching and communication style made him a favorite among students. It also translated well to the world outside Santa Clara University.

For example, he developed a signature program that connected the Leavey School of Business to business leaders in Silicon Valley and beyond. In 1975, local venture capitalist Don Lucas proposed that the school develop economic programming tailored to the needs of business leaders. 

The result was the annual Economic Symposium, which ran for a remarkable 32 years. The program attracted C-suite luminaries as attendees and Nobel Laureates as presenters, and Belotti was its beating heart. 

“I remember the time when I was new at Leavey and the parking lot was full of fancy European cars — all the CEOs who had come to listen to Mario’s State of the Economy talk,” said Sanjiv Das, professor of finance and business analytics. “He was amazing, talking for an hour and a half with no notes, reciting all those economic statistics (to the second decimal place) from memory! But Mario was not limited to just economics, though that was his lens. He was a true purveyor of world wisdom.”

Part of Belotti’s wisdom came from recognizing an opportunity when he saw it. The ongoing Economics Symposium was a chance to impart knowledge, of course, but it also was about building relationships.

“He seized the opportunity to develop the Economics Symposium with Don Lucas when Stanford turned Don down.” Shefrin noted. “In the end, Don became the primary financial contributor to Lucas Hall, our building, and to the Mario Belotti chair.”

Belotti also had the foresight to view business as a global affair. Starting in 1970, he spent his summers for more than two decades as an economic development consultant abroad, particularly for developing countries. That interest in global business would last throughout his long career.

“My most precious memories of Mario and Rose were from 2007, when I led a group of our MBA students on a two-week long study trip to India,” said Naren Agrawal, professor of information systems and analytics. Along with providing ongoing commentary about global economics, Belotti and his wife offered the group optimism, enthusiasm, and energy. The two were the first in the hotel lobby each day and the last there at night. “And they did this with full vigor and an attitude that would make one believe that they were the 25-year-olds, not the students.”

Belotti’s attitude had a positive effect on the students traveling with them, just as his life had a positive effect on most anyone he came into contact with. Greg Baker, professor of management and entrepreneurship, says his own work on an international immersion program for the school can be attributed directly to Belotti’s influence. In fact, he called it the multiplier effect in action.

“I will remember Mario as a great man who came from simple beginnings,” Baker said, “who was fortunate to come to the US, get an education and then a job, and who then spent his life working to improve the lives of others, whether at home or in a developing country in a far off land.”