Alberto Baillères González (22 August 1931 – 2 February 2022) was a Mexican
billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...
businessman. , he had an estimated net worth of US$10.1 billion according to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''.
He was the chairman of Grupo BAL, and of ITAM.
Early life
Baillères was born in Mexico City
on 22 August 1931,
as the son of
Raúl Baillères.
[ Baillères attended ]Culver Military Academy
Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...
, in Culver, Indiana, US. In 1953 he received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology), commonly known as ITAM, is a private university. It is one of Mexico's most important institutions of higher learning; highly prestigious in the social sc ...
(ITAM, a school founded by his father), in Mexico City.
Career
He took over as head of Grupo BAL
Grupo BAL is a cluster of Mexican companies in various sectors of the economy. Its president was Alberto Gonzalez Baillères,the second richest man in Mexico in 2013, according to ''Forbes''. Gonzalez's son Alejandro Baillères has been president ...
aged 28, following the death of his father.
Baillères owned Grupo BAL, which controls a large number of other companies including Industrias Peñoles / Peñoles
Peñoles is a subsidiary company owned by Grupo BAL. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active mines wit ...
, the second most important Mexican mining company and the world's largest silver producer, El Palacio de Hierro
El Palacio de Hierro (officially ''El Palacio de Hierro S.A. de C.V.''; en, The Iron Palace) is an upscale chain of department stores in Mexico. Its flagship store in Polanco, Mexico City, reopened in 2016 after an extensive renovation of US$300 ...
, a chain of department stores mainly located in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, Grupo Nacional Provincial, the largest insurance company in Mexico, Grupo Profuturo, a pensions and annuities business.[Fresnillo Board biography](_blank)
He sat on the board of directors of Fresnillo plc
Fresnillo plc is a Mexican precious metals mining company incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in Mexico City. Fresnillo is the world's largest producer of silver from ore (primary silver) and Mexico's second-largest gold miner. ...
.
He was also a head member of the board of ITAM, one of Mexico's top higher education centers and thinktank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental o ...
, and owner of other businesses related with financial services, agriculture and bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
. He was the owner of the 92m yacht Mayan Queen IV.
In October 2012, Bloomberg listed Baillères as the 35th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US $19.3 billion.
Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor
The Senate of the Republic awarded Baillères the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor
The Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor (Spanish: ''Medalla de Honor "Belisario Domínguez" del Senado de la República'') is the highest award bestowed by the Mexican Senate.
It forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is currently Mexico's ...
, Mexico's highest honor, on November 12, 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
.
Personal life and death
Baillères was married to Teresa Gual, they had seven children, and lived in Mexico City.[
He died on 2 February 2022, at the age of 90.]
See also
* List of Mexican billionaires
The following is a Forbes list of Mexican billionaires is based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by ''Forbes'' magazine on April 17, 2017, updated April 13, 2023.
Mexican Rich List 2023
# Carlos Slim - US$93.0 ...
References
1931 births
2022 deaths
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México alumni
Mexican businesspeople
Mexican billionaires
Mexican people of French descent
Alberto
Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...
Culver Academies alumni
People named in the Paradise Papers
Businesspeople from Mexico City
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