Alfredo Harp Helú (born 1944) is a Mexican businessman of Lebanese origin, and as of 2011, with a net worth of $1.5 billion, is according to Forbes the 974th richest person in the world. He is also the cousin of multibillionaire Carlos Slim.[1]
Alfredo Harp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 28 January 1944 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Education | Accounting |
| Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Mexico (BS) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Relatives | Carlos Slim (cousin) |
|
Baseball career | |
| Member of the Mexican Professional | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2023 |
| Website | www |
In 2018, Alfredo Harp Helu ranked #1,867 on the Forbes World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US $1.2 billion.[2]
Biography
editBorn on 11 March 1944 in Mexico City,[3] Harp is most famous for being the former owner of the biggest Latin American and Mexican bank, Banamex (now part of Citigroup), and was a billion-dollar beneficiary of Citigroup's 2001 buyout of Banamex. He is also owner of the telecommunication company, Avantel, the second largest telephone company in Mexico (now part of Axtel).
On 23 March 2019, the Diablos Rojos del México (Red Devils) opened their new Alfredo Harp Helú baseball stadium in Mexico City.[4]
Personal life
editHarp is married, with several children. He and his family with his second wife divide their time between homes in Mexico City and Oaxaca City.
Kidnapping
editIn 1994, Harp's family paid about $30 million after he was held for 106 days by his kidnappers in Mexico City.[5] The release followed a dramatic television appearance in which his son, accompanied by a family lawyer and a priest, accepted the kidnappers' terms unconditionally. At the family's request, the police did not intervene, giving rise to fears that the huge ransom would encourage more kidnappings, and adding to concerns about Mexico's stability. In 1996, authorities claimed to have recovered nearly $10 million of the Harp ransom.[5]
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.[citation needed]
Philanthropy
editHarp 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).
Baseball
editHe is a baseball fan, owning wholly or partly two professional baseball teams in Mexico, the Diablos Rojos del México, acquired in 1994, and the Guerreros de Oaxaca of Oaxaca City, acquired in 1996.[3] In 2012, he became part of the MLB San Diego Padres ownership group.[6]
Harp also founded the Alfredo Harp Helú Baseball Academy, located in San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca. The Academy's goal is to develop young baseball prospects and it is affiliated to the Diablos Rojos del México and Guerreros de Oaxaca.[7]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Carlos Slim". Bloomberg. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Forbes Billionaires 2021: The Richest People in the World". Forbes.
- ^ a b "Mi historia". alfredoharphelu.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ^ Rocha, Rodrigo (March 23, 2019), "Los Diablos tienen fiesta" [The Diablos have a celebration], Milenio (in Spanish), Mexico City, retrieved 23 March 2019
- ^ a b "A 25 años del secuestro que sacudió a México: Alfredo Harp, presidente de Banamex, estuvo cautivo más de 100 días". Infobae (in Spanish). 29 June 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "Alfredo Harp Helú part of Padres ownership group". MLB.com. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "Academia Alfredo Harp Helú". academiaahh.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- The New York Times - Family of Kidnapped Mexican Financier Agrees to Ransom (June 1994)
- Time - No Help for Mexico's Kidnapping Surge (August 2008)
- BBC - Mexican fury grows at kidnappings (August 2008)