This is undoubtedly information that will delight crypto fans and in this case bitcoin enthusiasts and evangelists. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, one of the biggest fortunes in Mexico, claims to have invested heavily in digital currency.
"I definitely don't have any bonds," the billionaire said. He added that in his liquid portfolio, "I have 60% in bitcoin and bitcoin equities. And then 40 percent in hard assets, stocks like oil and gas and gold miners and that's where I am."
He did not specify the amount in his liquid portfolio, but this revelation makes him one of the first billionaire to announce he is pretty much all in on bitcoin.
Salinas was speaking at the “Bitcoin 2022” conference in Miami. The event has attracted more than 25,000 attendees.
Salinas is chairman of Grupo Elektra, a conglomerate with revenue of 119 billion Mexican pesos ($6.1 billion) in 2019, according to Bloomberg.
The Mexico City-based lending and retail group owns Banco Azteca. The billionaire also owns shares in broadcaster TV Azteca.
His net wealth is estimated at $12.8 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
The Club of Bitcoin Fans Billionaires
On his Twitter account, Salinas' latest posts relate to bitcoin and the crypto industry, of which he seems to have become one of the big champions. He posted a photo with Michael Saylor, another billionaire who is also an investor in bitcoin.
"“Please… don’t put your future in government’s hands, you and I know how does that always ends, stay away from #FIAT money, invest in #btc," the billionaire just posted to his 1 million followers.
"#Goodmorning from the @TheBitcoinConf, we will continue to learn and meet new friends to build better opportunities for @groupsalinas and his collaborators!!!" he also posted. "I have met in person @saylor and we will do interesting things."
Salinas is not the first billionaire to invest his personal fortune in bitcoin.
Legendary investor Bill Miller has shown some big love for cryptocurrency, with the billionaire and fund manager saying that bitcoin and other cryptos now represent around 50% of his personal assets.
He advised individual investors to put at least 1% of their assets in bitcoin.
Salinas' revelation arrives as legislation seems to be becoming clearer in the United States.
President Joe Biden issued an executive order last month asking federal agencies to work on regulating the crypto industry. The same executive order made it clear that innovation should not be stifled and did not mention the taxation of crypto.
The White House also revived the idea of a digital dollar.
The mistrust of institutional investors vis-à-vis bitcoin and altcoins has also somewhat diminished in recent weeks. Billionaires Ken Griffin and Ray Dalio and 'King of Bonds' Bill Gross recently spoke highly of bitcoin.
