Ramón Rato (1907–1998) was a Spanish businessman who in 1947 set up the "
Cadena Rato
Cadena is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Ana Lilia Garza Cadena (born 1970), Mexican politician
* Carlos Cadena (1917–2001), Mexican American lawyer, civil rights activist and judge
* Carlos Cadena Gaitan (born 1983), jour ...
" radio station which became one of the most popular in Spain during the
Francoist State
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of History of Spain, Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . ...
, of whom Rato was a supporter, though he was equally supportive of
King Juan Carlos
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...
after
Franco's death and the restoration of the monarchy.
In 1967 he was imprisoned for 3 years and fined 176 million
pesetas for having money hidden in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. On 2 April he sold 63 of the 72 radio stations he owned to the
ONCE
Once may refer to:
Film, television and theatre
* ''Once'' (film), a 2007 Irish musical film by John Carney
** ''Once'' (musical), a 2011 stage adaptation of the film
* ''Once'' (TV series), a 2017–2019 Argentine telenovela
* Canal Once (Mex ...
(National Blind Association), for five billion pesetas. He died in September 1998 at the age of 91.
He is the father of
Rodrigo Rato
Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo (born 18 March 1949) is a businessman and politician who served in the Council of Ministers of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He also served as the ninth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2004 ...
, former Minister for Economic Affairs and former director of the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
.
1998 deaths
1907 births
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