Richest Mexicans lose US$16 billion with peso collapse

The fall of the Mexican peso after the solid victory of the president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaumhas dealt a severe blow to the country’s richest businessmen.

Since the June 2 election, the fortunes of five Mexican tycoons who are among the 500 richest people in the world, including Carlos Slim and German Larreahad collectively fallen $16 billion to $153 billion as of Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The peso rose on Thursday for the first time in three sessions, with an increase of 1% against the dollar, although the currency continues with a loss of 8.5% for the year.

He “superweight” of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador encouraged billionaires for the past six years, even as other emerging market currencies weakened. Now, the uncertainty surrounding the constitutional reforms that could be approved before Lopez Obrador leaves power in October is wiping out much of the gains.

While none of the proposed reforms directly target sectors such as telecommunications, mining and the media where they have made their fortunes, the possibility of reforming the judiciary could damage the rule of law in the country and deteriorate the investment climate. .

Among the top five, only John Beckmanthe patriarch of the family that owns tequila Jose Cuervohas seen his net worth increase, which has increased by US$270 million to US$7.2 billion.

Slimwhose fortune fell below the $100 billion mark after the election and met frequently with López Obrador, was seen chatting with Sheinbaum at an event this week at his Mexico City museum.

Since winning the presidency, Sheinbaum has not publicly acknowledged any meetings with local business leaders. Instead, he has posted photos of meetings with representatives of international companies such as BlackRock Inc. and Walmart Inc.

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