This is Google's cache of http://www.isgp.eu/organisations/introduction/PEHI_Gustavo_Cisneros_bio.htm. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 4 Dec 2009 11:08:43 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime. Learn more
Text-only version
These terms only appear in links pointing to this page: isgp eu

back

Gustavo Cisneros

Latin America's billionaire media baron. Knight of Malta. Chairman and CEO of the Cisneros Group of Companies (very prominent in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), which has large stakes in companies like Univision, AOL Latin America, DirecTV Latin America, and a score of other media companies. Member of the board of international directors at the United World Colleges in London, which is presided over by HRH Prince Charles. Trustee of the Rockefeller University and a friend of the Rockefellers. PR Newswire, May 4, 1992: "Cisneros, a Venezuelan native, is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Chase Manhattan Bank, the Chairman's Council of the Americas Society and the International Advisory Council of the United States Information Agency. He is also a member of the board of overseers of the International Center for Economic Growth and the International Advisory Board of the Power Corporation of Canada. His other memberships include, but are not limited to, the International Advertising Association, the board of directors of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the U.S., and The 1001: A Nature Trust for the World Wildlife Fund in Switzerland." He is an outspoken critic of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, whom he criticizes for "arrogant abuse of power and authority." In turn, Chavez accuses him of complicity in the April 2002 coup attempt (on Chavez) and of using his private TV station Venevision to undermine the administration. Luckily for Cisneros, about 80% of his holdings are outside Venezuela. Cisneros hobnobs with U.S. friends such as Jimmy Carter and George Bush Sr. Guests at his daughter's lavish New York wedding reception in October 2002 included Kofi Annan, Sid Bass and Oscar de la Renta. He also ran BIOMA, a leading Venezuelan "environmentalist group" shut down after being caught faking dolphin killings for a campaign against the tuna fishing industry. Early in 1994, the family bank, Banco Latino, in Caracas, went broke after it was charged with fraud. His brother Ricardo, one of the directors, was fugitive for years until caught and sent to jail. Cisneros has received Spain's Order of Isabel la Católica, conferred by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I (also a 1001 Club member and Knights of Malta), for strengthening international ties between Venezuela and Spain.

back