Gustavo Cisneros

Gustavo Cisneros (born in 1946) is a Latin American media king and is among the world's 100 richest men according to Forbes magazine.

Cisneros' $4.6 billion fortune comes from his many media, telecommunications and beverage companies, most notably his large stake Univisión. One of his other major holdings is Venevisión, the main television provider in Venezuela.

Fearing nationalization of his television stations, Cisneros is a vocal opponent of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Fidel Castro in Cuba, with whom Chávez has become increasingly aligned. There is no love lost on either side; Chavez calls Cisneros' TV station one of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Cisneros' stations in Venezuela chose not to air footage of the public's demonstrations in support of Chavez during the coup attempt of 2002 against him. At this point, more than 80% of Cisneros' operations are based in the United States. With recent consolidation of Chávez's power, Cisneros and his company has become less vocal in its opposition inside Venezuela.

Cisneros is an advocate of Free Trade Area of the Americas, free trade throughout the entire Western Hemisphere.

References

• The Cisneros Group - main page for Cisneros' assets
• Forbes' 2004 entry for Cisneros