Benjamin Leon, Jr. (born December 4, 1944) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

businessman and horse enthusiast who has been announced by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to serve as the next

United States ambassador to Spain The most recent ambassador was Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, she was sworn in by United States Vice President, Vice President Kamala Harris on January 7, 2022, and presented her credentials on February 2, 2022. This is a list of Ambassadors of t ...

Career

Leon was born in Oriente,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in 1944. Leon migrated to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States in 1961. Leon's father founded Clinica Cuba in 1964 in order to help meet the healthcare needs of newly immigrated Cubans. Leon and his father also founded Clínica Asociación Cubana (CAC), one of the first

health maintenance organization In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded hea ...

s in the United States. In 1994, Leon sold CAC to

UnitedHealthCare UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealthcare, and health care ser ...

for $500 million. In 1996, Leon founded Leon Medical Centers, which provides healthcare to Medicare patients. Leon Medical Centers is currently led by Leon's son, Benjamin Leon III, who serves as the company's CEO.

Besilu Stables

In the 1980s, Leon established Besilu Stables, and began to show and breed

Paso Fino The Paso Fino is a naturally gaited light horse breed dating back to horses imported to the Caribbean from Spain. ''Pasos'' are prized for their smooth, natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait; they are used in many disciplines, but are especi ...

horses. In 2008, Leon bought his first

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

, and soon after started racing horses. In 2011, Leon bought Royal Delta for $8.5 million. She would win the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

for

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

in 2011 and again in 2012 and 2013 as the

American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...

Political activity and philanthropy

In 2015, Leon donated $2.5 million to the presidential campaign of

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

. Leon has also donated to the Republican Party of Kentucky and

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

. In 2008, Leon donated $10 million to establish the

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

Family Center for Geriatrics Research and Education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Benjamin Living people 1944 births Businesspeople from Miami Cuban emigrants to the United States Florida Republicans