Alex Meruelo Net Worth & Biography

Alex Meruelo Net Worth & Biography

Alex Meruelo is the president and chief executive officer of Meruelo Group. He has been the majority owner, governor, and chairman of the Arizona Coyotes since July 29, 2019. Alex founded the Meruelo Group LLC to support his still-growing chain of companies across a variety of businesses, including in sectors such as food services, real estate, entertainment, gaming and hospitality, banking, and construction. Born to Cuban immigrants in New York City, Alex experienced his childhood in the Los Angeles area and later completed his bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach in 1985. Shortly after graduating from college, Alex started La Pizza Loca, a pizza business focused on the unique tastes and needs of the local Latino community. From a single spot in Huntington Park, California, he grew his fast-food pizza business into a chain of company-owned and franchised pizza cafés well known across the Hispanic community of Southern California. Later, he expanded further in the food industry through both Fujisan Franchising Corp. which operates a fresh sushi and Asian food kiosk concept to franchisees throughout the US, and Fuji Food Products, Inc., a national food manufacturing enterprise that produces a range of food products for retail customers. Building further on his success, Mr. Meruelo assembled and developed a commercial and residential real estate portfolio with properties throughout Southern California. Those investments led him to expand into construction endeavors through Meruelo Enterprises, Inc., owner of 6 utility construction companies with roots in building major public and private construction projects within Southern California. An active investor, Alex currently serves on the board of Commercial Bank of California. His other business interests include several television and radio stations in Southern California, the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, and the SAHARA Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. He also supports many philanthropic causes and institutions in the United States.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

Cuban-American billionaire Alex Meruelo was born on March 27, 1964 in New York City, New York, United States. His parents were Cuban accountants who fled their home country when Castro came to power and moved to Los Angeles in California where they managed a bridal shop and started investing in local real estate.

From an early age, Meruelo started to follow in the footsteps of his parents by investing in real estate. He became a millionaire in his early 20s thanks to his successful sales of a plot of land in Riverside to Walmart.

For his education, Meruelo studied at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, California, before attending California State University for his bachelor’s degree.

Professional Life: Entrepreneurial Career, Business Endeavors

At the age of 23, after working in his father’s tuxedo business for some time, Meruelo decided to start a new and unique type of pizza restaurant that will cater to Latinos in the United States while offering unusual toppings such as jalapenos and chorizo. His first step was to buy a failing pizza restaurant, and he renamed it La Pizza Loca. Within 5 years, his fast-food pizza had opened 12 different locations and reached $10 million in sales. He expanded his business focus further and founded the Meruelo Group which eventually grew to become a construction and real estate development firm. The Meruelo Group which Alex Meruelo co-founded in 2003, has ownership of Doty Bros, Select Electric Inc., and Neal Electric Corp, as well as the Commercial Bank of California. The group also owns and controls radio stations KDEY-FM, KDAY, KPWR, KLOS, and KLLI, and television stations KBEH and KWHY-TV, and the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada which Mr. Meruelo spent $25 million on in renovations in 2011.

Meruelo acquired food manufacturer and the biggest pre-packaged sushi provider and distributor in the United States Fuji Food in 2009. In 2017, the Meruelo Group completed the acquisition of The SLS Las Vegas (formerly known as Sahara Hotel and Casino) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In November 2011, Meruelo’s bid to purchase the National Basketball Association franchise Atlanta Hawks from the team’s then owners was turned down. However, four years later, the team was sold to Tony Ressler for an undisclosed fee.

In June 2019, Alex Meruelo succeeded in his quest to own a sports franchise when he purchased majority ownership of the National Hockey League team Arizona Coyotes from previous sole owner Andrew Barroway who maintained a minority stake. With his purchase of the Coyotes, Mr. Meruelo became the first Latino owner in the history of the NHL.

Personal Life: Marriage, Children, Private Interests

Alex and his wife are the proud parents of three children. The couple currently live in Reno, Nevada.

Extremely proud to have become the first and only Hispanic majority owner in the NHL history, Alex has expressed his desire in helping the Arizona Coyotes grow the hockey team’s already expansive community envelopment in the Valley – and to bring a much-wanted trophy –the Stanley Cup, to the state of Arizona.

Alex Meruelo Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets, Real Estate

The wealth of the Cuban-American businessman and investor, Alex Meruelo, is currently estimated at over $2 billion. The majority of his fortune has come from his Meruelo Group which started from a small fast food business and later expanded to include a chain of companies across a variety of businesses, including in sectors such as food services, real estate, entertainment, gaming and hospitality, banking, and construction. Alex’s streams of income include his La Pizza Loca, several television and radio stations,  hotels and casinos, and the professional sports team Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

In May 2008, Mr. Alex Meruelo purchased an 8,500-square-foot house at 36 Indian Creek Drive in Miami for $75 million. In March 2014, he spent over $10 million in the acquisition of a penthouse in The Langham, New York. His most recent big-money move was the June 2018 purchase of Colom Island in Spain said to be worth an estimated 3.2 million euros.