Billionaire owns 50% of Miss Universe: From gambling king to recognized by the Mexican Senate

After the news that billionaire Raúl Rocha Cantú's Legacy Holding company acquired 50% of the shares in the company that owns Miss Universe, the identity of the powerful man immediately sparked curiosity among beauty fans.

From a scandalous past to recognition by the Mexican Senate

Raúl Rocha Cantú was born in Monterrey (Nuevo León state, Mexico). He is famous as the "king of gambling" because he once owned the large-scale casino Casino Royale. In August 2011, this place was attacked and set on fire by 20 gunmen, leaving 52 people (mostly women) dead.

After the tragedy, Raúl quickly fled Mexico before the exit ban was imposed. Although the attack was particularly serious, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) ultimately exonerated this man.

According to Proceso newspaper, Raúl did not pay compensation to the victims' families and did not take any responsibility for what happened, even though the law required him to help the survivors.

In Mexico, the wave of outrage against Raúl has been strong for a long time. Only when he gradually entered the entertainment business did he receive less criticism. Currently, he is the head of Legacy Holding Group USA Inc. - a company that owns media and entertainment assets, spent $16 million to acquire 50% of JKN Legacy, Inc. (Miss Universe operating company).

Yahoo said that during his career as a businessman, the powerful man participated in conferences such as the Development Forum and also created strategies for foreign companies investing in Mexico. One of the most recent projects he participated in is a cooperation with Taiwan in 2022.

In addition, he was appointed as a direct advisor to the chairman of the Business Coordination Council, and since August 2023, he has held the position of vice president of the Business Agency of the National Chamber of Commerce of Ho Chi Minh City. Mexico City. In addition, Raúl is also known as Honorary Consul of Guatemala in Mexico, and is also a representative of the private sector in the Tamaulipas Energy Commission (CETAM).

In November 2023, more than 12 years after the Casino Royale fire, Raúl went from being a notorious man to receiving the National Humanitarian Award from the Mexican Senate thanks to his efforts to protect the human rights of Mexicans.

"He introduces himself as philanthropic because he has carried out various activities to support people with low resources, defend human rights, protect vulnerable people as well as constantly strive to represent for Mexico in other countries with the aim of attracting the attention of investors," Infobae wrote.

Taking over beauty contests

In early 2023, Raúl Rocha Cantú announced the good news of establishing a relationship with the Miss Universe organization. Initially, as he shared, these were projects bearing the Miss Universe brand in Latin America.

After that, he used a large amount of money to buy back the rights to Miss Universe for the national Mexicana Universal contest, causing Lupita Jones - the contest's executive director at that time, to leave. From here, Raúl changed all the rules and new looks for this beauty playground.

In a statement, Raúl said he was excited to appoint Cynthia de la Vega as the new country director of Mexicana Universal. This contest is expected to be held in September, to find a representative to compete in the 73rd Miss Universe.

In fact, the news of a powerful man taking over Mexico's largest beauty pageant was widely discussed before, when the last Mexicana Universal season under the control of Ms. Lupita was not broadcast on any television station. .

Last November, Lupita during a livestream hinted at having her license revoked by "someone". Miss Universe 1991 even attacked Raúl, making it impossible for Mexicana Universal to go well.

For his part, Mr. Raúl said he "regretted" not being able to meet Lupita during the appointment of Cynthia de la Vega as the new country director. "The Mexicana Universal organization decides that anything related to the management and direction of the previous country director is unique. Currently, we are not against it," he said.

Although he spoke "harmoniously" about the old values of Mexicana Universal, in an interview on Al Rojo Vivo, Mr. Raúl emphasized that he would ask the law to intervene if Ms. Jones continued to make public statements. click.

In just 2 years, Raúl successfully expanded his power into the beauty industry. Not only does he take over the national competition, he also currently owns 50% of the rights to run the most fierce beauty contest on the planet, Miss Universe.

Accordingly, LHG company is headquartered in Mexico, so Raúl will be responsible for the North - South America region. JKN of Ms. Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, headquartered in Thailand, will be responsible for Asia and the remaining regions.

On his personal page, Raúl added Miss Universe to the description and shared a trailer that mentioned the words: "Miss Universe New Era".

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