José Francisco "Pepe" Fanjul (born 1944) is a Cuban-born businessman. He is the second eldest of the Fanjul brothers, who control a sugar and

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

business valued at US$8.2 billion. Pepe Fanjul is often criticized as the Fanjul brother that most often donates to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

seeking political favors, and in particular, seeking to ensure the continuation of the governmental price support of sugar that the Fanjul family company,

Domino Sugar Domino Foods, Inc. (also known as DFI and formerly known as W. & F.C. Havemeyer Company, Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Refinery, and Domino Sugar) is a privately held sugar marketing and sales company based in Yonkers, New York, United States, that ...

, most directly benefits from.

Early life

Fanjul is the second son of Alfonso Fanjul Sr. and his wife Lillian Rosa Gomez-Mena. He received a bachelor's degree from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, and an MBA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(NYU).

Career

Fanjul is the vice chairman and president of Flo-Sun, a Fanjul family-owned sugar growing and refining company, and of Florida Crystals.

Political interests

Fanjul is a longstanding supporter of Republican politicians, one of the largest contributors to

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, a leading patron of

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

, and has co-hosted a large fundraiser for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. His brother Alfonso Fanjul Jr. has been a leading Democrat supporter since at least 1992, and was co-chair of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's Florida campaign. He and his brother, Alfy Fanjul Jr., both hold Spanish and American passports. They are close friends of the ex-King Juan Carlos and have stated on various occasions that they would be willing to receive the exiled king as a guest in any of their mansions around the world.

Personal life

He is married to Emilia May Fanjul, and they live in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. They also own an apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue, New York City. In 2002, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that Fanjul had "considered" leaving his wife for socialite Nina Griscom, with whom he had a "celebrated affair" (and who was married to plastic surgeon Daniel Baker) but had "changed his mind". In 2002, their daughter Emilia Helena Fanjul married Brian C. Pfeifler, executive director managing private client accounts at

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

, son of Brian D. Pfeifler of

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Current, North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida a ...

, Florida. In 2010, Fanjul refused to fire his executive assistant, the long-time white nationalist Chloe Hardin Black, who was married first to David Duke, the former national leader of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

and "America’s most well-known racist and anti-Semite", and then to Don Black, another former Ku Klux Klan leader and member of the American Nazi Party, who runs the hateful neo-Nazi, white supremacist and Holocaust denial Stormfront Internet forum, the premier site for white supremacists in the world. The website is believed to be at least partly supported by the salary that Florida Crystals, the Fanjuls' sugar conglomerate, paid Chloe Black.Wtf: The Socialite's Nazi Publicist
. gawker.com. Retrieved April 14, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanjul, Jose 1944 births People from Havana Businesspeople from Palm Beach, Florida Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban businesspeople American billionaires Cuban billionaires Living people Villanova University alumni New York University alumni Fanjul family