Ricardo Salinas Pliego Net Worth: $13.3 Billion
Category: Richest Business › Richest Billionaires
Birthdate: Oct 19, 1955 (68 years old)
Gender: Male
Profession: Businessperson
Nationality: Mexico
What is Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s Net Worth?
Ricardo Salinas Pliego is a Mexican businessman with a net worth of $13.3 billion, making him one of the richest individuals in Mexico. At various points, he has been the second richest person in the country, following Carlos Slim Helu. Salinas Pliego amassed his fortune as the founder of Grupo Salinas, a conglomerate involved in media, retail, banking, and telecommunications.
Early Life
Ricardo Salinas Pliego was born in Monterrey, Mexico, on October 19, 1955. He graduated from Tecnológico de Monterrey and earned an MBA from Tulane University.
Source of Wealth
Ricardo inherited Grupo Elektra from his great-grandfather. Founded in 1905 as a furniture manufacturer called Salinas & Rocha, the company eventually expanded into consumer appliances, finance, television, radio, and retail. Salinas Pliego took over as CEO in 1987 and innovated by offering appliances, electronics, and furniture on credit to Mexico’s lower and middle-income consumers. This practice, however, has drawn criticism for targeting people with limited means of repayment.
TV Azteca
In the early 1990s, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari initiated the privatization of state-owned assets. In 1993, Ricardo won a government auction to acquire Imevision, a state-owned media conglomerate, for $645 million. He renamed the company TV Azteca, which has since become a leading integrated television channel globally. TV Azteca also served as the umbrella network for Azteca America, a popular Spanish-language channel in the United States, broadcasting to 89% of the Spanish-speaking population in the country. Salinas sold Azteca America to HC2 Network Inc. in 2017.
Grupo Salinas/Banco Azteca
In 2001, Ricardo consolidated his businesses into Grupo Salinas. A year later, the group was granted a license to form Banco Azteca, the first such license issued by Mexico in a decade. Banco Azteca specializes in small business loans, credit cards, mortgages, payroll software, and other microloans.
In 2003, Salinas acquired Mexico’s first cell phone company, Iusacell, and later merged it with Unefon, a telecommunications company. His business empire now extends into Central and South America. In 2012, he acquired Advance America, the largest payday lender in the United States, for $780 million. Grupo Salinas also owns Mazatlan F.C. football club and the Italika motorcycle company.
Personal Life
Salinas Pliego is married to María Laura Medina, and they have six children: Ricardo Emilio Salinas Medina, Ninfa Salinas Sada, Benjamín Salinas Sada, Hugo Salinas Sada, María Emilia Salinas Sada, and Juan Cristóbal Salinas Sada.
He owns several luxury assets, including a $100 million yacht called the Azteca and multiple mansions in Mexico City, Cancun, and Los Cabos. Known for his outspokenness on social media, Salinas Pliego frequently criticizes the Mexican government and has been involved in several controversies.
