Mexico’s sizable – and wealthy – Lebanese community will step up to assist the victims of this week’s explosion in Beirut that killed 137 people and injured at least 5,000, members of the country’s Lebanese community confirm.
“We are all sad and affected by what happened,” said Amin Saiden, president of the Fundación del Centro Libanés in Mexico City. “Unfortunately it occurred at a complicated time for Lebanon, with a devaluation coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, putting the country in a difficult situation for recovery.”
Mexican business magnates with Lebanese heritage include Carlos Slim (among the world’s top ten richest people), Alfredo Harp Helú and Alfredo Elías Ayub. Also of Lebanese parentage is actress Salma Hayek, who is married to François-Henri Pinault, one of France’s wealthiest businessmen.