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When Emilio Azcarraga Jean took over the family media empire at the age of 29, some people didn’t think he was ready to fill his imposing father’s shoes. His father, Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, was known as “El Tigre” (The Tiger) for his fierce demeanor and looks, but the young publicity-shy Azcarraga defied naysayers, pulling Grupo Televisa out of near-bankruptcy with the help of his closest confidantes.

Educated at the exclusive Lakefield College School in Ontario, Canada, and the elite Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, Azcarraga Jean, 48, has steered the company to its present status as Mexico’s leading media company with holdings in cable, satellite, radio, publishing, feature film production, professional soccer, and most recently, the OTT platform Blim, launched in February this year.

In the U.S., Televisa has provided primetime programming for decades to top Hispanic broadcaster Univision where the FCC has allowed it to raise its current stake to more than 40%. In 2010, Televisa joined forces with indie studio Lionsgate to form Latino Hollywood studio, Pantelion Films, which hit pay dirt in 2013 with Eugenio Derbez’s “Instructions not Included,” earning an unprecedented $44.5 million to become the top grossing Spanish-language film of all time in the U.S.

As of November 28, 2016, his net worth has been valued at $1.88 billion, per Forbes. Azcarraga Jean has three sisters, and is married to Sharon Fastlicht Kurian, with whom he has a son, Emilio.

Grupo Televisa is now facing the challenges of adapting to the fast-changing viewing habits of its core audience, and has been allocating more resources to Blim, tapping some of Mexico’s top filmmakers to provide original high quality-concept series as it seeks to edge out market leader Netflix.

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