Mexican Billionaire "Alberto Bailleres" Dies Aged 90

Mexican billionaire Alberto Bailleres, a mining and retail tycoon known as a patron of higher education and the arts, has died, aged 90.

The founder of Mexico mining company Industrias Penoles, a world leader in silver production, Bailleres had an estimated net worth of $8.6 billion in 2022, according to Forbes.

Bailleres was for decades chairman of the board of trustees of the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), a university founded in 1946 by a group of bankers, industrialists, and businessmen led by his father, Raul Bailleres.

Many technocrats and officials who helped craft Mexican economic policy for decades schooled at ITAM.

Bailleres headed the boards of several large Mexican companies, many of which he founded, and also held senior board positions at other major Mexican firms. His myriad companies extended through sectors from insurance to retail and are grouped under the umbrella of Grupo BAL.

BAL includes Fresnillo, another leading Mexican mining company, Grupo Palacio de Hierro, which operates a chain of upmarket department stores, and insurance company Grupo Nacional Provincial.

He was the owner of a 92 meter (300 foot) super-yacht called the Mayan Queen.