The richest woman in Mexico assures that she never had the vocation to be a businesswoman, but that a promise made to her father before he died forced her to train in a business world that was almost completely unknown to her.
Today, however, María Asunción Aramburuzabala can boast to her 59 years of a fortune of $6,180 million dollars, which according to Forbes places it in fifth place on its list of millionaires in Mexico and as the third richest woman in Latin America (only behind the Chilean Iris Fontbana and the Brazilian Lucia Maggi).
Heiress of the company leader of beer in Mexico and manufacturer of the world-famous Corona, Grupo Modelo, Aramburuzabala later knew how to multiply that family fortune thanks to investments in the field i real estate, technology, banking or telecommunications, among others.
“That diversification in its different businesses and the continued search for new areas in which to invest its capital have meant that its fortune has remained more constant in recent years, because it has been able to adapt to innovate in its investments,” says Roberto Arteaga, deputy editor of Forbes Mexico.
‘Mariasun’, as those close to her know her, was also the first woman to join the board of directors of the Mexican Stock Exchange and has on her resume the having participated in the councils of some of the most influential companies in Mexico.
Little fond of lavishing herself in the media -BBC Mundo requested an interview with the businesswoman but received no response-, Aramburuzabala participated on last year on the podcast Cracks where he talked about his keys to success, the humble origins of s his family, how he learned to move in a world dominated by men and his plans for the future.
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“I would highlight her focus and determination. Although in the interview she is very simple, friendly and open, you can not help but perceive the great strength of her. It must be very challenging to be his opponent in any situation”, remembers that conversation Oso Trava, entrepreneur, business development advisor and podcast host.
The family empire of beer
The brewing origin of Aramburuzabala’s fortune begins in the small Basque municipality of Eskoriatza, in the north of Spain. His grandfather Félix was born into a large and very humble family, who was dedicated to transporting stones in ox carts to be used in construction.
![Lista de millonarios de México 2022. [ Carlos Slim: US$81.240 millones ] [ Germán Larrea: US$30.850 millones ],[ Ricardo Salinas: US$12.450 millones ],[ Familia Baillères: US$6.650 millones ],[ M.A. Aramburuzabala: US$6.180 millones ], Source: Fuente: Forbes, Image: María Asunción Aramburuzabala](https://eldiariony.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load-0.7/images/1x1.trans.gif)
Like so many others, at the beginning of the last century he decided to travel to America in search of opportunities. In Mexico he started in the yeast business and, after meeting the then president of Grupo Modelo, he ended up becoming his partner and one of the main promoters of the company.
From his family and From those humble origins, Aramburuzabala assures that he learned “honesty, discipline and working long hours.”
After the death of her grandfather, it was María Asunción’s father, Pablo Aramburuzabala, who inherited her part of the company. When he dies of terminal cancer, it is her turn to take the reins with only 32 years at the express request of his father.
Getty Images“(The ) was already very, very serious, and that promise that I made to take care of the family… was something that determined me. It is something that he still carries with it (although) he would do it without that promise (…). I have been like the guardian and the man of the family”, he acknowledged in his interview last year.
He remembers his beginnings as a very difficult stage. After marrying businessman Paulo Patricio Zapata at the age of 19 years, Aramburuzabala studied public accounting and had his two children.
But when her father died, the truth is that today’s businesswoman was dedicated to housework and summarizes her situation at that time in a single sentence: “I was from the kitchen to the office (…). It was not that I had a vocation to be a businesswoman, but rather it was to face the need”.
Years of learning
He assures that, at that time, nearby businessmen and bankers tried to take advantage of the family and take advantage of their inexperience in the sector. But her mother and her only sister trusted her to take charge of the business.
“I told them: ‘I have to learn, but I do tell them that I am not going to take advantage of you’. It’s not that they chose me because I was very good, the truth is that there was no better either… I mean, I was the choice”, admitted who became vice president of Grupo Modelo.
Later I would know to Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico, and from whom he says he did receive help and recommendations. “He has everything to learn because he is a very intelligent person (…). He is a person who does not miss anything, who is in everything, who knows all his investments… The control he has is impressive”, he highlighted.
Aramburuzabala, who defines herself as “a woman of character” and “incredibly hard” on herself, prevailed to then take her place in business and founded the investment firm Tresalia, in allusion to “three allies” (her mother, her sister and her) to diversify her operations.
Aware of her lack of criteria to know where to invest at that time is, she chose to surround herself with lawyers and advisers to whom she did not delegate the 100%. “I would go (with them) and sit in every single meeting there was. And that’s how I learned,” he revealed.
According to Arteaga, from Forbes Mexico, Aramburuzabala’s great success is “knowing how to listen” and having experts whom “he can question as much as possible” to understand the future of bussiness. “His great credit was not only to manage an inherited fortune, but to support himself through his constant investments,” he tells BBC Mundo.
https://twitter .com/forbes_mexico/status/126704346
But in 2013, Grupo Modelo was sold to the Belgian-Brazilian multinational AB InBev. And although the majority of directors decided to completely disassociate themselves from the company, she chose to remain a shareholder.
“I am a semi-sentimental people in the sense that my roots can get me (…). It’s my DNA and I think it’s something I’ll never leave,” she said, while defining herself as “chelera (brewer) and tequila.”
A woman in a chauvinist environment
About the path traveled to become one of the few women to occupy such a high position , Aramburuzabala acknowledges that it was not easy to land on the board of the family business.
“There is no business more sexist than beer. And my dad goes and has two women (daughters), ”she recalled. Her mother, on the other hand, always encouraged them to believe in her possibilities. “Wake up. Here you have to prepare yourself, because here there are no men in the family and you are going to have to face your terrain”, he told her and her sister.
And although in her beginnings as a businesswoman recognizes that the participation of women in business was almost “nil”, today she is satisfied that they participate more in political life and in positions of power in companies.
Behind this decision, some analysts say, would be -in addition to the impact of the pandemic- his poor relationship with the current government headed by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, contrary to the one he had with previous presidents es.
“She has known how to take advantage of her political relations. Let us remember that in it 976 she married the then US ambassador. in Mexico (Tony Garza, her second husband). Those were very fruitful years for her during the six-year terms of Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto, when her businesses were the beneficiaries of many public tenders, especially in information technology”, says Darío Celis, an economic and financial analyst.
Government of MexicoBut many of these contracts, assures the expert in an interview with BBC Mundo, were not renewed when López Obrador came to power and Aramburuzabala began to feel “an adverse climate” for his business.
But Aramburuzabala denies that this is true. “This rumor that I was leaving Mexico, because the government treated me badly… (…). You have to invent a horror story, the truth is that there is nothing wrong”, he answered.
“It is sometimes difficult for people to understand that you sell your business, because if you do it it is because something happened and it went wrong. No, that’s our business: invest, grow it and then sell it for a profit (profit). And again you start a new cycle”, he justified about his sale of investments in Mexico.
“He denied it to me a few times Celis replies. “The question is why do you start your new businesses outside of Mexico? Kio was a big business that didn’t have to sell. The problem is that she considered that Mexico is not a suitable place to invest at this time with this government, so she decided to do it abroad and go away for a while”, she says.
It is not the only controversial issue that has touched him in recent years. Last year, the investigation into the Pandora Papers included her name among the list of businessmen and politicians who allegedly moved fortunes to tax havens. Aramburuzabala did not speak out in public about this.
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In 2019, the real estate firm he runs, Abilia, caused him another big headache. That year she fired a good part of the directors of the real estate company after discovering that they had committed an alleged huge financial fraud in the company. This situation affected him so much that Aramburuzabala admitted that he had to retire for a year and a half due to stress.
Reinvent yourself in the future
When you think about what your favorite investment has been, Aramburuzabala points to the Aliat schools. “When you educate a person, you change their life. It is something super filling and it is something that no other business gives you: the human factor”, he said.
In fact, he assures that if he made some of his investments, it is because he felt they were necessary for the growth and development of Mexicans. “I saw the shares on the Mexican Stock Exchange and said: ‘How is it possible that Mexico doesn’t have a pure technology company, that there isn’t an education company?’”.
AFP Separated from her second husband since 2010 and a lover of photography, animals and diving, some of his professional priorities go through the field of Fintech (companies that use technology to provide financial services) and, although at the moment he does not participate in the area of cryptocurrencies, he believes that you have to “put much more batteries” in this regard.
Among its objectives is to prepare the transition of his businesses to the next stage of leadership -in which his son Pablo is already involved- and reinventing himself. “I have always liked what I do, but I would like to think of something different,” he said.
“Maybe go back to school? I don’t know, something of a farmer or something like that… It doesn’t have to be business, you can reinvent yourself in so many things…”. 811743058316267520
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