MIAMI, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — The number of billionaires in the region dropped dramatically to 69 in April, from the 100 names in the previous year. The fall is a testament to the magnitude of the Latin American economic slowdown, brought about by lower commodity prices, slower growth in China, and by localized issues such as Brazil’s political crisis.
The biggest fortunes were hit hard. Case in point is Mexico’s Carlos Slim, with an estimated fortune of $50 billion, down 35%, from the $77.1 billion last year.
Another example from Mexico is Ricardo Salinas Pliego, founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas (TV Azteca, Elektra, Banco Azteca) who saw his wealth fall almost by half from $8.2 billion last year, down to $4.3 billion this year.
In Brazil, one of the biggest drops was for the Marinho family (Rede Globo) -Joao Roberto Marinho, Jose Roberto Marinho and Roberto Irineu Marinho- with a 47.5 percent plummet in their fortune, from $8.2 billion in 2015 to $4.3 billion this year.
But there were others who, despite the difficulties in the region, managed to increase their fortunes. For example, the fortune of Jorge Moll Filho, the founder of the biggest hospital chain in Brazil, shot up 88%. Joining him with one of the top growth rates is Mexico’s David Peñaloza Alanis, chairman and CEO of infrastructure construction company Pinfra, with a 25% growth in his fortune.
The total fortune of the 69 magnates on the list reached $299.2 billion, that’s $4.3 billion per head, a dash more than the $4.2 billion per head from 2015.
To view the whole list and see how each billionaire’s fortune changed, visit: http://latintrade.com/top-billionaires-in-latin-america-down-to-69-names-from-100/
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This article first appeared on PR Newswire.