Former La Opinion Publisher Makes List of Wealthiest Latinos : Ranking: Hispanic Business Magazine places Ignacio E. Lozano Jr.'s net worth at $35 million. - Los Angeles Times
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Former La Opinion Publisher Makes List of Wealthiest Latinos : Ranking: Hispanic Business Magazine places Ignacio E. Lozano Jr.’s net worth at $35 million.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Ignacio E. Lozano Jr., former publisher of the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, is among the 50 wealthiest Latinos in the United States, according to the first such listing by Hispanic Business Magazine.

Lozano, 65, who turned over the reins of Los Angeles-based La Opinion Newspapers to his son, Jose, in 1986, is president of Lozano Enterprises Inc., the parent corporation of La Opinion. He lives in Lido Isle.

Lozano and his family were ranked 20th in terms of their net worth, which was estimated at $35 million, according to the magazine’s March issue.

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In years past, the magazine has focused on the top 50 and top 100 Latino-owned businesses. Requirements for the new list were that all individuals had to be U.S. citizens with a substantial portion of their wealth invested in the continental United States.

Some Latinos who were included on the Forbes 400 list--the Bacardi family, for example--were not included on Hispanic Business’s list. Although Forbes estimated the net worth of the 500 members of the Bacardi family at $800 million, “this family is not included . . . because much of its wealth is in the hands of non-citizens, many of whom also live abroad,†Hispanic Business wrote.

The minimum net worth of those on the list of richest Latinos was $20 million. No. 1 was Joseph A. Unanue and family, owners of Goya Foods Inc. The company, based in Secaucus, N.J., was estimated to be worth $330 million. The top five names represent fortunes totaling at least $1 billion.

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Of the 50 names, 10 made their fortunes in wholesaling and retail sales, seven were in media and six in finance and investments.

Several of the richest were women, including entertainers Gloria Estefan, a Cuban-American, and Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill. Estefan shared 14th place with her husband, Emilio, and their Estefan Enterprises/Miami Sound Machine in Miami, Fla., which had a reported net worth of $40 million. Luckinbill and her brother, Desi Arnaz Jr., are the offspring of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Sr.

The youngest millionaires are both 36 years old. Mike Parra of Frank Parra Autoplex in Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Raul Alarcon Jr., chief executive officer of Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. in New York, the nation’s leading Latino-owned radio network.

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