Ricardo Salinas' Portfolio Revolution: The Bitcoin-Centric Wealth Reshaping Strategy

In a move that captures emerging perspectives on wealth preservation, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego has fundamentally restructured his asset allocation, positioning bitcoin as the cornerstone of his fortune. The ultra-wealthy entrepreneur, ranked among Mexico’s three richest individuals, now holds 70% of his wealth in bitcoin, with the remaining 30% distributed between physical gold and gold mining ventures—a positioning that market observers recognize as increasingly emblematic of how high-net-worth individuals are hedging against traditional financial uncertainty.

This strategic shift comes amid several converging factors in Salinas’ business landscape. The president of the Salinas Group—which encompasses Banco Azteca, Grupo Elektra, TV Azteca, and Lusacell Telefoncia—recently disclosed his allocation strategy during an interview with Bloomberg. During the same conversation, Salinas addressed a pending tax dispute with Mexico’s Supreme Court, where the government seeks to levy $3 billion against his enterprises, though he maintains he has already satisfied these obligations. While the direct causality remains unclear, such pressures have historically motivated wealth diversification among prominent Latin American businessmen.

Bitcoin as Strategic Asset Class: Salinas’ Conviction in Digital Currency

Beyond the numerical allocation, what distinguishes Salinas’ positioning is his vocal advocacy for bitcoin within Latin America’s business elite. With over 2 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), he consistently amplifies perspectives on cryptocurrency adoption and has publicly shared details of his bitcoin acquisitions. In early 2025, Salinas participated in the World Governments Summit, where he made unfiltered remarks about political leaders’ limited understanding of blockchain technology and digital currency frameworks—underscoring his conviction that bitcoin represents not merely an investment but a philosophical stance on monetary sovereignty.

This ideological alignment with bitcoin coincides with his practical business decisions. Rather than diversifying across traditional equity markets, Salinas has effectively withdrawn from conventional portfolio construction, a choice that reflects both philosophical belief and pragmatic asset protection.

The Grupo Elektra Transition: Taking Operations Private

In parallel with his cryptocurrency-heavy allocation, Salinas announced plans to take Grupo Elektra private on the Mexican stock exchange, a restructuring scheduled for mid-2025. This decision carries strategic weight given that only 0.3% of the company’s shares currently trade publicly—meaning the transition will have minimal market disruption while granting Salinas complete operational autonomy.

The context for this move traces to 2024, when a major creditor attempted to liquidate substantial shareholdings, triggering a 70% stock price collapse. That episode apparently crystallized Salinas’ preference for private operation, eliminating exposure to equity market volatility and external shareholder pressures. By consolidating his companies under private ownership while anchoring his personal wealth in bitcoin, Salinas effectively de-couples himself from traditional financial system dependencies.

The Emerging Wealth Model

Ricardo Salinas’ configuration—70% bitcoin, 30% gold, with business operations moved into private ownership—represents a coherent strategy that transcends simple asset allocation. It reflects a deliberate architectural redesign of wealth structure, one that prioritizes decentralization, sovereignty, and protection from systemic financial pressures. As business leaders increasingly examine alternative frameworks for wealth preservation, Salinas’ approach has become a case study in how prominent entrepreneurs are responding to the intersection of monetary uncertainty, regulatory pressures, and technological transformation in the global financial system.