Benjamin Leon, Jr.  | |
|---|---|
|  United States Ambassador to Spain  Nominee  | |
| Assuming office TBD  | |
| President | Donald Trump | 
| Succeeding | Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón | 
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 4,1944 [1]  | 
Benjamin Leon,Jr. (born December 4,1944) is a Cuban-American businessman and horse enthusiast who has been announced by President Donald Trump to serve as the next United States ambassador to Spain. [2] [3]
Leon was born in Oriente,Cuba in 1944, [1] and in 1961,he migrated to Miami,Florida. [1] [4] He is of Spanish-Canarian descent through his great grandparents who were from the Canary Islands that settled in Cuba. [5] Leon's father founded Clinica Cuba in 1964 in order to help meet the healthcare needs of newly immigrated Cubans. [1] Leon and his father Leon Sr. also founded Clínica Asociación Cubana (CAC),one of the first health maintenance organizations in the United States. [6] In 1994,Leon sold CAC to UnitedHealthCare for $500 million. [6] In 1996,Leon founded Leon Medical Centers,which provides healthcare to Medicare patients. [7] Leon Medical Centers is currently led by Leon's son,Benjamin Leon III,who serves as the company's CEO. [8]
In the 1980s,Leon established Besilu Stables,and began to show and breed Paso Fino horses. [4] In 2008,Leon bought his first Thoroughbred,and soon after started racing horses. [4] In 2011,Leon bought Royal Delta for $8.5 million. She would win the Eclipse Award for American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2011 and again in 2012 and 2013 as the American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse. [6]
In 2008,Leon donated $10 million to establish the Florida International University Family Center for Geriatrics Research and Education. [9]
In 2015,Leon donated $2.5 million to the presidential campaign of Marco Rubio. [10] Leon has also donated to the Republican Party of Kentucky and Mitch McConnell. [11]
In 2025,Leon was one of the donors who funded the White House's East Wing demolition,and planned building of a ballroom. [12]