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Meet the Billionaire who bet 10% of his portfolio on Bitcoin

Photo of: Joseph Stone
by Joseph Stone

Mexico’s media boss Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the 106th richest man in the world, now owns Bitcoin. The billionaire considers paper money worthless and announced that he holds 10% of his cash portfolio in Bitcoin.

For Ricardo Salinas Pliego, investing in Bitcoin is almost a political gesture. On Twitter, the Mexican billionaire denounces the expropriation of citizens by the government. And according to him, Bitcoin offers protection.

Founder and president of the Salinas Group, Pliego heads various companies in the media, telecommunications, finance and retail sectors.

Salinas is also the president of TV Azteca, the world’s second largest producer of Spanish-language programs and Mexico’s second largest media company. According to the Forbes ranking of the world’s fortunes, the director has a total wealth of 11.9 billion dollars.

But Ricardo Salinas Pliego is now also a Bitcoin investor. The 106th wealthiest man in the world says he has invested heavily in cryptocurrencies. The billionaire explains that his “liquidity portfolio” now consists of 10% of Bitcoin.

According to the billionaire, this makes cryptocurrency a safe haven against the depreciation of fiat currencies. Pliego believes that “paper money is worthless”. His strategy is therefore simple in this context: “That’s why it’s always good to diversify our investment portfolio,” he emphasizes.

This diversification therefore includes the purchase of Bitcoin. The company director also took the opportunity to recommend a book on cryptocurrency, “The Bitcoin Pattern”, and to encourage such investments.

“Today, I recommend THE BITCOIN PATTERN, the best and most significant book to understand #Bitcoin. Bitcoin protects the citizen against expropriation by the government. Many people ask me if I have Bitcoin, YES. I’ve invested 10% of my cash portfolio,” he writes on Twitter.

In response to a comment about the growing adoption of Bitcoin by institutional investors, Ricardo Salinas Pliego explains this in part by Grayscale’s launch of the Bitcoin Investment Trust in 2016.

The asset manager now holds no less than 506,000 Bitcoin on behalf of its clients. These tokens alone represent more than $8.2 billion. And with Bitcoin now flirting with the $18,000, the value of that capital continues to grow.