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Gustavo Alfredo Jiménez de Cisneros y Rendiles (1 June 1945 – 29 December 2023) was a Venezuelan businessman and Chairman of Grupo Cisneros.
A onetime billionaire, according to Forbes, his net worth peaked at US$6.0 billion in 2007 (equivalent to $ billion in prices when adjusted for inflation); he dropped off the billionaires' list in 2020 as a consequence of his Venezuelan assets losing value due to the long economic crisis in Venezuela.
Cisneros's father, Diego Cisneros, was in business in Caracas from 1929 and received the Pepsi concession for Venezuela in 1940, before going on to gain the concession for private TV channel Venevisión in 1961. The Cisneros family was the wealthiest in South America on the 2006 Forbes ranking.
Cisneros graduated from Suffield Academy in Connecticut in 1963. He graduated from Babson College in Massachusetts in 1968.
Cisneros became President of Grupo Cisneros when he was 25 years old.
Cisneros's wealth came from his holdings in media, entertainment, telecommunications, and consumer products companies. Grupo Cisneros is one of the largest privately held Spanish-language media and entertainment companies.
Until the buyout of Univision, the United States’ leading Spanish-language television network, Cisneros was one of the biggest shareholders of the company. He also owned Venevision International, which produces and distributes media and entertainment products throughout the world, and Venevisión, a Venezuelan television network. Since 1980 the group has owned the Miss Venezuela contest and since 2001 also the Leones del Caracas baseball team.
Long an advocate of free enterprise Cisneros for many years expanded his operations outside of Venezuela and into overseas markets, including the U.S., Spain, and later China.
In August 2013, Gustavo Cisneros appointed his daughter Adriana Cisneros de Griffin as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cisneros.
Before his death, Cisneros was developing Tropicalia, a multibillion-dollar resort in Miches, northwest of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Its opening is scheduled for 2026.
Cisneros was listed among the world's richest men, according to Forbes magazine, which estimated his fortune at US$1.1 billion in 2019. His wealth decreased from its 2014 secondary peak of US$ 4.4 billion, and its 2007 primary peak of US$ 6.0 billion.
Cisneros was questioned about his relationship with Chávez.
Fundación Cisneros runs a wide range of educational and cultural programs aimed at improving the lives of Latin Americans. These include the AME program for professional development of Latin American educators, visual arts education and awareness based on the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros; PPV, a visual thinking curriculum for Latin American school children, and traveling art exhibits showcasing the talents of Latin American artists for North America and European audiences.
Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros is a privately held Latin American art organization based in Venezuela and New York City. Patricia and Gustavo Cisneros began collecting Latin American abstraction after their marriage, in 1970. Over the years, it has grown to more than 2,000 pieces, including about 200 Spanish colonial objects. In addition, the couple has amassed a vast holding of ethnographic material from the Amazon. Based in New York and Caracas, the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros today also includes works by Uruguay's Joaquín Torres-García, Brazil's Lygia Clark, and Venezuelan modern masters Jesús Rafael Soto, Alejandro Otero, and Carlos Cruz-Diez. The Cisneros Foundation was moving toward building a permanent institution in Caracas in the late 1990s until Hugo Chávez was elected president. In 2007, the foundation encountered resistance from the Chávez government when lending works by Venezuelan painter Armando Reverón (1889-1954) to New York's Museum of Modern Art for the museum's first retrospective devoted to a single Latin American artist in 50 years.Chris Kaul (28 January 2009), An art trove ends its nomadic phase Los Angeles Times.
Cisneros lived in the Dominican Republic beginning in the 1990s.
In addition to Venezuelan citizenship, Cisneros also held United States, Spanish, and Dominican citizenship.Pablo Bachelet, Gustavo Cisneros Un empresario global, Barcelona, Planeta pag.20
Through his father, Diego Cisneros's paternal side, Cisneros is related to Pablo de Hita y Salazar, who was the 27th Governor of La Florida from 1674 to 1680. As a tribute to his father, Cisneros published a book about the Cisneros family tree.
Politics
Although Cisneros and Hugo Chávez were originally friends and Cisneros contributed to Chávez's first presidential campaigns, Cisneros was accused of involvement in the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt against Chávez after their relationship became strained because of Chávez's confrontation with the media. (2026). 9780786727445, Nation Books. ISBN 9780786727445
Philanthropy
Cisneros supported two philanthropic entities: Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros and Fundación Cisneros.
Personal life
Cisneros was married to his wife, Patricia, from 1970 until his death.Suzanne Muchnic (19 August 2007), Spreading the riches Los Angeles Times. She has been a significant MoMA benefactor since 1992, has been a trustee of the museum and has made substantial cash contributions to the museum's recent renovation. Her name is on one of the institution's exhibition rooms. In addition to MoMA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, Long Beach's Museum of Latin American Art, and the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid also have received art loans.Cristina Carrillo De Albornoz (27 March 2012), Madrid's Reina Sofía signs agreement with Cisneros Foundation The Art Newspaper.
Death
On 29 December 2023, Gustavo Cisneros died in New York City, at the age of 78. Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisneros dies at 78 Spanish newspaper El País reported that the cause of his death was pneumonia, a complication following a spinal surgery. The news was confirmed by Cisneros Media, the company owned by Cisneros, through a statement on social media. In the statement, they expressed deep sorrow over his death, describing him as a "visionary leader whose influence extended far beyond the business realm", known for his strategic vision and commitment to innovation.
Commendations
Honors
Leadership
Past affiliations
See also
Further reading
(2026). 9780984017331, Fundación Cisneros. ISBN 9780984017331
(2026). 9780984017317, Fundación Cisneros. ISBN 9780984017317
External links
Categories: 1945 Births, 2023 Deaths, Mass Media People From Caracas, Dominican Republic Businesspeople, Dominican Republic Billionaires, Venezuelan Television Company Founders, Venezuelan Billionaires, Babson College Alumni, Venezuelan Expatriates In The Dominican Republic, Naturalized Citizens Of The Dominican Republic, International Emmy Directorate Award, Cisneros Family, Venezuelan Art Collectors
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