A man addicted to his business
He is 69 and runs business lines in gambling, hospitality, real estate and aviation sectors. He is the founder and president of numerous companies, including CIRSA – one of the largest world gambling groups.
Manuel Leo Hernandez holds the position, among others, of President of the Spanish Gambling Confederation (COFAR), founded in 1994. He was born in Almeria and his family moved to Barcelona when he was 12. His childhood dream was to become a businessman. In 1968, he married Rosa Gorina and they have three children – Manuel, Esther and Ingrid, all involved in business, emulating their famous parent.
To give back what he received
In 2005, the Hispanic magnate created Manuel Lao Hernandez Foundation, so as ‚to give back to the society what he received from it’, as he confessed. During years, the businessman was given many distinctions that recognized his involvement and success in business.
The best on the Latin America market
Manuel Lao started in the hospitality and real estate sectors. In 1978, he created CIRSA, a company that manufactures, sells and installs gaming equipment in the gambling rooms. Ten years later, CIRSA went worldwide. In the South America, this company places the first among the operators in the local casinos. Over 50% of the CIRSA earnings come from the Latin America. One of the largest investments was made in 2009, at City Center de Rosario in Argentina, number one casino in the South America. This one features 2,000 slot machines, 80 gaming tables, a five-star hotel, conference rooms and many high-end stores.
Wealth of over 700 million euros
During an interview for the Spanish mass-media, Manuel Lao spoke about his pastime activities. He confessed that his free time is spent with his family, mainly his four grandchildren. He loves doing sport and is passionate about art and bonsai. But he admits that his first and last hobby is his business. His wealth is estimated between 700 and 770 million euros. CIRSA is one of the leading companies in the gambling world. It employs over 14,000 people and opened 212 agencies in 70 countries. To give an example, it had 88 bingo rooms, 25 casinos and more than 50,000 functional pieces of gambling equipment in 2010.
