Alfredo Harp Helú (born 1944) is a Mexican businessman of Lebanese origin, and as of 2011, with a net worth of $1.5

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

, is according to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

the 974th richest person in the world. He is also the cousin of multibillionaire

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business oligarch, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from his e ...

. In 2018, Alfredo Harp Helu ranked #1,867 on the ''Forbes'' World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US $1.2 billion.

Biography

Born on 11 March 1944 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Harp is most famous for being the former owner of the biggest

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

and Mexican

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

Banamex #redirect Grupo Financiero Banamex Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A. de C.V. has its origins and is the owner of the Banco Nacional de México or Banamex (branded as Citibanamex 2016-2025). It is the second-largest bank in Mexico. The Banamex Finan ...

(now part of

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

), and was a billion-dollar beneficiary of Citigroup's 2001

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity, or a controlling interest of a company, or a majority share of the capital stock of the company is acquired. The acquirer thereby "buys out" the present equity holde ...

. He is also owner of the

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

company, Avantel, the second largest telephone company in Mexico (now part of

Axtel Axtel S.A.B. de C.V., known as Axtel, is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey. It offers telephone, internet, and television services through FTTH in 45 cities of Mexico as well as IT Services. It is t ...

). On 23 March

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their ho ...

(Red Devils) opened their new Alfredo Harp Helú baseball stadium in Mexico City.

Personal life

Harp is married, with several children. He and his family with his second wife divide their time between homes in Mexico City and

Oaxaca City Oaxaca de Juárez (), or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec languages, Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding munici ...

Kidnapping

In 1994, Harp's family paid about $30 million after he was held for 106 days by his

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

pers in Mexico City. The release followed a dramatic

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

appearance in which his son, accompanied by a family

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, accepted the kidnappers' terms unconditionally. At the family's request, the police did not intervene, giving rise to fears that the huge

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

would encourage more kidnappings, and adding to concerns about

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

's stability. In 1996, authorities claimed to have recovered nearly $10 million of the Harp ransom. In 2008, Harp attended the funeral of Fernando Martí, 14-year-old son of the founder of a chain of sporting goods stores, who had been kidnapped and murdered, despite his family's payment of a ransom. He also paid for a full-page advertisement in newspapers calling on the government to put a stop to the rising kidnapping phenomenon in Mexico.

Philanthropy

Harp funds several charitable foundations: * Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú * Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca (involved in education, health, culture, and conservation in the state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

Baseball

He is a baseball fan, owning wholly or partly two professional baseball teams in Mexico, the

, acquired in 1994, and the

Guerreros de Oaxaca The Guerreros de Oaxaca (English: Oaxaca Warriors) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico. Their home field is Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos. History In October 1995, a group of businessmen, ...

, acquired in 1996. In 2012, he became part of the

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

ownership group. Harp also founded the Alfredo Harp Helú Baseball Academy, located in San Bartolo Coyotepec,

. The Academy's goal is to develop young baseball prospects and it is affiliated to the Diablos Rojos del México and Guerreros de Oaxaca.

External links

Timeline 1994 C

Alfredo Harp Helu personal

Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú

Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca

References

(June 1994) * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080809141037/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1830649,00.html Time - No Help for Mexico's Kidnapping Surge(August 2008)
BBC - Mexican fury grows at kidnappings
(August 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harp Helu, Alfredo 1944 births Living people Mexican billionaires Mexican people of Lebanese descent Businesspeople from Mexico City Lebanese businesspeople National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni