Germán Larrea Mota Velasco
Mexican businessman; chairman and chief executive of Grupo México and chairman of Southern Copper
| Germán Larrea Mota Velasco
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 10 1953 (age 73 years old (as of 2026)
) Mexico |
| Occupation | businessman |
| Known for | Chairman, president and CEO of Grupo México; chairman of Southern Copper Corporation |
Germán Larrea Mota Velasco (born 26 October 1953) is a Mexican businessman and the majority owner of Grupo México, the country's largest copper miner, which also has operations in Peru and the United States and runs railways and infrastructure businesses.[1] He has been Grupo México's chairman, president and chief executive since 1994, and chairman of its listed mining subsidiary Southern Copper Corporation since December 1999.[2] Forbes lists the fortune as "Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family". On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Larrea and his family 29th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$69.19 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Mining.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Larrea and his family 30th, at US$67.1 billion.[4]
Early life and education
Forbes gives his date of birth as 26 October 1953 and his citizenship as Mexican.[1] No details of his education were found in the primary sources checked; Forbes's record lists none.
Business career
According to Southern Copper's management biography, Larrea joined Grupo México's board in 1981 and was previously its executive vice-chairman. He has been chairman, president and chief executive of Grupo México since 1994, chairman and chief executive of the railway holding company Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano since 1997, and chairman and chief executive of Empresarios Industriales de México and Fondo Inmobiliario since 1992. He has chaired Southern Copper since December 1999 and was its chief executive from December 1999 to October 2004.[2] Southern Copper's 2025 proxy statement shows that Americas Mining Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo México, held 88.9% of its common stock.[5]
Forbes says Grupo México expanded into infrastructure and rail transport under his leadership, and that in 2017 he spun off its transport arm as GMéxico Transportes, part-owned by two companies of Carlos Slim Helú.[1] In 2003 the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement over the US smelting company ASARCO's sale of its Southern Peru Copper stake to its parent. The settlement created an environmental clean-up trust with initial funding of about US$100 million, guaranteed by Grupo México as ASARCO's parent company.[6]
In May 2023 Citigroup said it would float its Mexican retail bank, Banamex, rather than sell it, ending expectations of a US$7 billion sale to Grupo México. Mexico News Daily noted that the talks collapsed days after the government expropriated a section of Grupo México's railway.[7]
Wealth
Forbes attributes the family's wealth to its majority stake in Grupo México and gives the source as mining.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 20 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 490 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 127 | 7.3 |
| 2009 | 246 | 2.6 |
| 2010 | 72 | 9.7 |
| 2011 | 39 | 16.0 |
| 2012 | 48 | 14.2 |
| 2013 | 40 | 16.7 |
| 2014 | 67 | 14.7 |
| 2015 | 77 | 13.9 |
| 2016 | 121 | 9.2 |
| 2017 | 82 | 13.8 |
| 2018 | 72 | 17.3 |
| 2019 | 98 | 13.3 |
| 2020 | 118 | 11.0 |
| 2021 | 61 | 25.9 |
| 2022 | 45 | 30.8 |
| 2023 | 54 | 26.6 |
| 2024 | 62 | 27.9 |
| 2025 | 63 | 28.6 |
| 2026 | 30 | 67.1 |
Philanthropy
No personal foundation or documented major personal gift by Larrea was found in the sources checked for this profile.
Political activity
Before Mexico's 2018 general election, Larrea sent a letter to Grupo México's employees, collaborators and shareholders. The Morena party complained to the electoral tribunal, accusing him of slander and of discouraging votes for it. On 27 July 2018 the tribunal's Specialised Regional Chamber ruled that the letter was valid. It found that the letter expressed an opinion on a matter of public interest and did not coerce employees or call for a vote for or against any party or candidate.[8] At the time the miners' union said it was preparing its own complaint about the letter.[9]
Controversies and legal issues
On 19 February 2006 a collapse of tunnels at the Pasta de Conchos coal mine, operated by Grupo México's subsidiary Minera México, killed 65 miners.[9] In a company statement on 21 February 2006, Larrea said that "no effort or resource" would be spared in the rescue.[10] In 2018 the national miners' union said that he had obstructed investigations into the disaster and that complaints against him were still pending before international bodies.[9]
On 6 August 2014 a spill of hazardous mining waste from the Buenavista del Cobre mine at Cananea, Sonora, contaminated the Sonora river. Forbes reports that Grupo México agreed to a government request to put US$150 million into a trust to compensate affected residents.[1][11] In September 2023 Mexico's environment ministry said that pollution in the area was still at alarming levels, and that the spill had been caused by the inadequate design of a dam rather than by heavy rainfall alone.[12] La Jornada reported that the ministry had filed a criminal complaint against Grupo México on 17 August 2023. The environment minister, María Luisa Albores, said that less than half of the 2 billion pesos committed to remediation had been spent, and that the ministry would not accept the closure of the trust.[11]
On 19 May 2023 the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador published a decree declaring a public-utility interest in three stretches of the Ferrosur railway concession in Veracruz, about 120 km in total, between Medias Aguas, Coatzacoalcos, Hibueras, Minatitlán and El Chapo. The decree ordered their immediate temporary occupation by the majority state-owned Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec.[13] Ferrosur is run by Grupo México's transport company. AP reported that marines were sent in to take over the line. The government said it would compensate the owners for the "temporary occupation", although AP said it was unclear whether the seizure amounted to expropriation.[14] A later decree records that on 31 May 2023 Ferrosur signed an agreement with the federal government handing back the stretches. They were removed from its concession with effect from 7 June 2023, and it kept trackage rights over them. The October 2023 decree revoked the May decree.[13]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Grupo México's relations with the Mexican state include the 2023 rail expropriation decree, the Sonora spill remediation dispute, and the 2018 electoral-tribunal case over Larrea's letter to staff (see above).[14][13][11][8]
Other international links
Grupo México's operations extend to Peru and the United States through Southern Copper and ASARCO; the US government's 2003 ASARCO environmental trust was guaranteed by Grupo México.[1][6]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Germán Larrea Mota Velasco & family (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/german-larrea-mota-velasco/) Forbes, live record, read 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Southern Copper Corporation, Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco – Management team Southern Copper Corporation, undated page, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Southern Copper Corporation, Definitive proxy statement (Schedule 14A) for the 2025 annual meeting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2025 (meeting 23 May 2025), accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Reaches Deal with Copper Giant ASARCO to Sell Assets to Parent Company U.S. Department of Justice, 30 January 2003, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ MND Staff, Grupo México out of running for Banamex sale: Citi to pursue IPO Mexico News Daily, 24 May 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación, Carta dirigida al personal de la empresa Grupo México es válida: Sala Especializada (Letter to Grupo México staff is valid: Specialised Chamber) TEPJF, 27 July 2018, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Néstor Jiménez, Obstaculiza Larrea pesquisas del caso Pasta de Conchos: sindicato minero (Larrea obstructs investigations into Pasta de Conchos case: miners’ union) La Jornada, 31 May 2018, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Grupo México (via Southern Copper Corporation), Pasta de Conchos coal mine (press release) Southern Copper Corporation, 22 February 2006, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Angélica Enciso L., Semarnat denuncia penalmente a Grupo México por caso de río Sonora (Semarnat files criminal complaint against Grupo México over Sonora river case) La Jornada, 12 October 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Daniel Shailer (Associated Press), 9 years after mine spill in northern Mexico, new report gives locals hope for long-awaited cleanup AP News, 28 September 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Presidencia de la República (Mexico), DECRETO que deja insubsistente el diverso por el que se declara de utilidad pública … en los tramos de las líneas "Z", "ZA" y "FA" … (decree revoking the 19 May 2023 Ferrosur occupation decree) Diario Oficial de la Federación, 11 October 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Associated Press, Mexico seizes part of part railway line, sending in marines to take over AP News, 19 May 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.