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Venezuelan entrepreneur Gustavo Cisneros passed away on December 29, 2023, at the age of 78. So far, the cause of his death remains undisclosed, as per Hola! The news was first announced by the Cisneros Group, who wrote on X:
“@CisnerosMedia announces with deep sorrow the passing of Gustavo Cisneros Rendiles, Chairman of our Board of Directors, a visionary leader whose influence extended far beyond the confines of the business realm, noted for his strategic foresight and commitment to innovation.”
The Venezuelan business mogul is survived by his wife of 52 years, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, and their three children.
Gustavo Cisneros's family was ranked as the richest in South America in 2006
According to his official website, gustavocisneros.com, the Venezuelan industrialist Gustavo Cisneros was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. His father Diego Cisneros was a Cuban immigrant in Venezuela.
He owned a transportation business and had been credited with bringing Pepsi and Venevision private TV channel concessions in Venezuela in 1940 and 1961 respectively.
Diego even founded the family business in the 1930s which Gustavo took over in the 1970s along with his brother Ricardo. Since then, he served as the Board President and Chairman, until his demise recently.
According to Forbes’ 2006 ranking, the Cisneros family was the richest in the South American continent.
Although a Venezuelan national, Gustavo Cisneros earned U.S. citizenship after he attended Suffield Academy in Connecticut, from where he graduated in 1963.
Later, he also graduated with a degree in business administration from Babson College in Massachusetts in 1968.
In 1970, Gustavo Cisneros married Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, a prominent art collector, and together they had three kids - daughters Adriana and Carolina, and son Guillermo. Adriana Cisneros has been the CEO of Cisneros Group since 2013.
Patricia Phelps de Cisneros supported her husband and together they founded a non-profit called Fundacion Cisneros. The organization focussed on providing better quality of education across Latin America, especially in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
The website describes his relationship with his wife as one “centered on collaboration, mutual respect, and unconditional support, serving as the foundation for a healthy balance between his professional demands and his deep love for his family.”
Interestingly, he moved his family and company out of Venezuela in the early 2000s and divided his time in New York, Miami, Madrid, and the Dominican Republic.
All you need to know about Gustavo Cisneros, the business magnate
According to Business Insider, Gustavo Cisneros was one of the key figures in bringing American multinational companies to Venezuela, be it media or tech. Some of his business ventures include introducing the Miss Venezuela beauty pageant and expanding Venevision TV Network.
He also helped launch Univision, the first Spanish media company in the USA, and DIRECTV cable TV in South American countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Venezuela.
The business mogul also collaborated with PepsiCo Inc, Burger King, and Apple Inc, and spread them across Latin America.
Besides, he bought US-based breweries and baseball teams, alongside sporting goods retailer Spalding, baby products retailer Evenflo, and manufacturer All-American Bottling Corp.
His official website reports that besides being the backbone of the Cisneros Group, Gustavo was also on the Board of Directors of Barrick Gold Corporation and the Advisor to RRE Ventures LLC.
He was also the founding member of the UN Working Group on Information and Communication Technologies, the University Council of Rockefeller University, the Board of Overseers of Babson College, and the Advisory Committee of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, among others.
Gustavo’s exit from Venezuela happened when the late Hugo Chavez became the country’s President. Meanwhile, the Cisneros family shares a close relationship with the Bush and Rockefeller families in the USA.
It is also noteworthy that Cisneros Group is building a large resort in the Dominican Republic called Tropicalia, as per Business Insider.
Currently, the company not only produces soap operas but also invests in space-related broadband cellular technology and AI-powered marketing firms across Latin America.
In 2014, he was honored with the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award by the National Association of Television Program Executives.
This year, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the entertainment industry and improving education in Latin America. It was given by the Advertising Educational Foundation.
