Star football player Lionel Messi, who left PSG, announced last week that he signed with Inter Miami, one of the MLS teams. Thus, the billionaire owner of Inter Miami found his golden child. So who is Jorge Mas, the billionaire behind Messi's new team?
According to a statement from Major League Soccer (MLS), MLS team Inter Miami, founded by David Beckham and currently owned by Cuban-American businessman Jorge Mas and his brother Jose Mas, is joined by Lionel Messi, whom many describe as the best football player in the world. at the contract signing stage. Messi, who led his country Argentina to World Cup victory, is a Miami passenger, although a final agreement has not been signed yet.
Mas, 60, who became CEO and executive owner of Inter Miami FC in 2021, hopes that now 35-year-old Messi can help fulfill his dream of making Miami the gateway to football not only in South Florida but also in America. However, it may not be a fairy tale season for both Messi and Mas.
His father fled the government of Fidel Castro
Jorge Mas, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $1.3 billion, has gone through difficult stages throughout his life. According to the New York Times, Mas was born in Miami in 1963, just three years after his father, Jorge Mas Canosa, who died in 1997, fled his native Cuba to escape the Fidel Castro government. Mas Canosa joined the CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles after arriving in the United States. Before Jorge was born, his father participated in the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 but was unable to land because his ship was not allowed to dock on the beach.
After serving briefly in the US Army during Jorge Mas's childhood, Mas Canosa went into business. In 1969 he bought a small Puerto Rican telephone company called Iglesias y Torres on a $50,000 loan and changed the company's name to Church & Tower, hoping to enter the US market.
Has a major role in the internationalization of the company
Jorge started working for his father's company in 1984, which at that time was mainly responsible for laying cables and installing telephone poles. Jorge took over Church & Tower from his father in 1994 and transformed the Miami-based firm, renamed MasTec, into a multinational construction giant that currently provides installation, construction, and maintenance for energy, utilities, and communications infrastructure. Shortly after taking over the company, Mas is largely responsible for the company's growth into an international company, acquiring a number of telecom infrastructure companies in countries such as Brazil, Spain, Chile, Peru, and Messi's hometown Argentina.
One of the largest US companies run by Hispanics
MasTec generated $9.8 billion in revenue in 2022, making it one of the largest Hispanic-run US companies. MasTec, which owns approximately 15 percent of the shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, currently has a share worth $ 1.2 billion. Mas co-founded a company called Neff Rentals in 1990 and started a construction equipment and tool rental business in South Florida that grew from a single store to 80 branches. He took the company public in 1998, delisted in 2003, and sold it for $510 million in 2005.
Inter bought Miami from David Beckham
Mas started getting into professional sports in 2018 when he bought the newly formed Inter Miami team, which also included English football star, David Beckham. Three years later, in 2021, Mas made an acquisition with his brother, Jose Mas, to take over a majority stake in the team from Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.
11th most valuable team in MLS
Mas has served as the team's CEO and executive owner since 2021, while Beckham and Jose Mas remain partners. Private equity firm Ares Management also bought a stake in the team in 2021. In February, Forbes evaluated Inter Miami at $600 million, making the team the 11th most valuable team in MLS. Mas is also president of the Cuban American National Foundation, a group founded by his father in 1981 that focuses on helping members of the Cuban community in Miami, Florida.