Ricardo Salinas Pliego says he now holds about 70% of his investment portfolio in Bitcoin (BTC), while arguing the asset can eventually reach $1 million.
Key Points:
- Salinas told CoinDesk his Bitcoin allocation rose from 10% in 2020 to about 70% today.
- The Mexican billionaire said family debates over gold shaped his distrust of fiat money.
- He said he persuaded his wife to borrow against her home to buy Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Portfolio
Salinas, born in Mexico City in 1955, is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, a conglomerate spanning media, finance and retail.
He took control of Grupo Elektra in 1987, then shifted the family company from furniture manufacturing toward appliances and consumer credit.
The group now includes Banco Azteca and TV Azteca, but his monetary views formed earlier.
He told CoinDesk that gold dominated family conversations after Richard Nixon ended the U.S. dollar’s direct convertibility into gold.
Salinas called that move “the famous fiat fraud committed by Richard Nixon,” and said his family’s mining background made the issue practical.
He argues Bitcoin is unseizable, portable and superior to fiat money.
His exposure grew from 10% of his investment portfolio in 2020 to about 70% today.
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Salinas Outlook
Salinas tried to bring Bitcoin into Banco Azteca in June 2021, saying the bank was working to become the first in Mexico to accept it.
Mexican regulators pushed back.
That same year, Salinas sought $400 million in Bitcoin exposure and pledged $416 million in Grupo Elektra shares as collateral for a $150 million loan.
The lender, Astor Capital Fund, later proved fraudulent, after its CEO “Thomas Astor-Mellon” turned out to have past convictions tied to forged prescriptions and stolen jewelry.
At Bitcoin 2022, Salinas told the audience, “It’s one thing to understand a theoretical problem, and another to have lived it in your skin.”
He also persuaded his wife to mortgage her house and use the loan to buy Bitcoin.
For ordinary investors, Salinas said home equity can become some level of Bitcoin exposure, a view far outside standard wealth-management advice.
Asked about seven-figure forecasts from Cathie Wood and Michael Saylor, Salinas said, “So it will be a million dollars,” while adding that he does not know when.
His argument follows years of public criticism of fiat money, from family debates over gold to Bitcoin 2022.
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