Alex Meruelo: From Pizza Restaurants to Real Estate Mogul

Alex Meruelo, a Cuban American businessman, has a net worth of $2 billion. Growing up in Los Angeles, he started out in his father’s tuxedo business before opening his first pizza restaurant in 1985. Within five years, he had expanded to 25 locations and $10 million in annual revenue, establishing the chain La Pizza Loca Southern California.

Meruelo then founded the Meruelo Group, a real estate development and construction firm. The group owns a variety of assets, including the TV station KWHY-TV, the Grand Sierra Resort, Select Electric Inc, Neal Electric Corp, Doty Bros, a bank in Orange County, a maker of prepackaged sushi, and two LA radio stations, including Power 106 and KDAY. In 2017, the group purchased the SLS Las Vegas, formerly known as the Sahara Hotel and Casino, for $100 million. Meruelo’s goal is to transform the SLS into a Latino-friendly casino that appeals to the general public.

Meruelo is known for brilliantly using his various media assets to promote one another. For example, he runs contests on Power 106 that send listeners to his SLS casino in Vegas. At one point, he attempted to buy the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Meruelo and his wife currently reside in Reno, Nevada.

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