Alex Meruelo (born March 27, 1964) is a Cuban-American billionaire who holds business interests in banking, real estate, media, restaurants, food, casinos, and professional sports. He is the owner of Meruelo Group, as well as Meruelo Media, which owns five radio stations and two television stations in Los Angeles. In addition he is the owner of

Fuji Food Fuji Food Products is a food manufacturer based in Santa Fe Springs, California, United States, that specializes in ready-to-eat sushi products for supermarkets in the United States. The company is owned by Meruelo Group Alex Meruelo (born Ma ...

, two casinos, the

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 12 restaurants, including Charlie Palmer ...

in Reno, Nevada and the Sahara Las Vegas in Las Vegas and is the majority owner of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Biography

Meruelo was born in New York City. His parents were accountants who fled the Castro regime. His family moved to Los Angeles, California, where they held a bridal shop and invested in local real estate. He also started to invest in real estate at an early age, and eventually sold a plot of land in Riverside to Walmart, making him a millionaire in his early 20s.Alex Meruelo sees L.A. Latinos as key part of his highest-profile bet: a Las Vegas casino
''Latimes.com'', 20 April 2018 Meruelo attended the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, California, and received his B.S. from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

Career

Meruelo began his career in his father's tuxedo business. At the age of 23, he decided to open a new type of pizza restaurant catering to Latinos in the US and offering unusual toppings such as chorizo and jalapeños. He bought a failing pizza restaurant, and called his new business La Pizza Loca. Within 5 years, La Pizza Loca opened 12 locations and reached $10 million in sales. Meruelo expanded his business focus, founding the Meruelo Group, which has grown into a construction and real estate development firm. Meruelo Group has ownership of Neal Electric Corp, Select Electric Inc., and Doty Bros within the Southern California area. The group also owns Commercial Bank of California. which Meruelo co-founded in 2003, television stations KWHY-TV and KBEH, radio stations KLOS, KLLI, KPWR, KDAY and KDEY-FM under the Meruelo Media banner, and the

in Reno, Nevada. Meruelo purchased food manufacturer and the largest provider and distributor of pre-packaged sushi in the United States

in 2009. In September 2011, Meruelo announced a $25 million investment in the renovation of the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. In February 2013, the Meruelo Group made a bid to buy Donald Trump's Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino for $20 million. The deal fell through and the casino closed the following year. The SLS Las Vegas (formerly the Sahara Hotel and Casino) in Las Vegas, Nevada, was purchased by the Meruelo Group in June 2017. Alex Meruelo plans to turn the casino into a favorite destination for the Hispanic community. Meruelo plans to use its media properties to advertise the casino and its events. In May 2019, SLS brand owner SBE Hotel Licensing, LLC filed a lawsuit alleging that Meruelo's Las Vegas Resort Holdings, LLC had failed to pay at least $450,000 in licensing fees since November 2018. On June 28, 2019, The Meruelo Group and Alex Meruelo announced plans to rename the SLS Hotel as The Sahara Las Vegas. On August 29, 2019, the Meruelo Group officially changed the SLS Hotel to Sahara Las Vegas and is located on Sahara Blvd.

Professional sports

In November 2011, Meruelo's bid to take ownership of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association from the team's then owners Atlanta Spirit was turned down. The team was later sold to Tony Ressler in 2015. In June 2019, he purchased majority ownership of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League from previous sole owner Andrew Barroway who retained a minority stake. With his purchase of the Coyotes, Meruelo became the first Latino owner in the NHL.

Real estate

In May 2008, Meruelo purchased a 8,500-square-foot, $7.05 million house at 36

Indian Creek Drive Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

in Miami. In March 2014, he acquired a $10.79 million penthouse in The Langham, New York. In June 2018, he purchased

Colom Island Colom Island (''Illa d'en Colom'', official name in Catalan) is a small island of , located about from the north-east coast of Menorca. In the past it was used as a pesthouse and later as farmland. It belonged to the Roca family from Mahón Ma ...

in Spain for 3.2 million euros. In June 2021, Meruelo purchased a 22,000-square-foot, $12.1 million house in Paradise Valley, AZ.Catherine Reagor
Arizona Coyotes owner buys $12.1M home in Paradise Valley; former PetSmart CEO sells one
''AZCentral.com'', 21 June 2021

References

External links

Meruelo Group official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meruelo, Alex American real estate businesspeople American construction businesspeople American food industry businesspeople American businesspeople in mass media American radio executives Arizona Coyotes owners California State University, Long Beach alumni American people of Cuban descent Businesspeople from New York City 1960s births Living people National Hockey League owners 20th-century American businesspeople