● Billionaire Salinas Pliego is the payday lending king of the United States
● Salinas Pliego and family control Grupo Elektra, Elektra 100% owns Advance America which gave direct to the inauguration of President Trump
Mexico City – Does money speak louder than words? Donald Trump got a $250,000 check to fund his presidential inauguration celebration from Advance America, a 100%-owned subsidiary of Mexico’s Grupo Elektra, according to recently revealed official campaign finance documents. Ricardo Salinas Pliego and his family own 72% of Elektra and are the fourth-richest in Mexico, worth about $7 billion (at May 3) according to Forbes.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego didn’t mention his company’s $250,000 donation to Trump when he tweeted, “I support 100% the decision by @EPN [President Enrique Peña Nieto] not to see the clown @RealDonaldTrump [Donald Trump]”
The $250,000 donation was received by the Presidential Inaugural Committee on December 28, 2016, just 23 days before the presidential oath taken by Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.
This was only the latest and largest contribution Trump received from Advance America. Trump got $10,000 earlier in December for his official transition to take over the presidency after he won his election: $5,000 direct from Advance America plus another $5,000 from its political action committee, Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc PAC. Those donations were given directly to Trump for America, Inc.
Advance America’s political action committee also gave $14,200 during the past election cycle to Republicans who support building the wall and who won their elections to the US Congress and to the Texas governor who had not yet announced whether he will seek reelection next year.
Advance America has charged annual interest rates as high as 495% in the United States according to payday loan documents submitted to a US federal court. In Mexico, Grupo Elektra through its subsidiary Banco Azteca advertised annual interest rates up to 95%.
Documentation of the inaugural and political donations is available online at: http://ChedrauiLeaks.org/RicardoSalinas/?lang=en
About ChedrauiLeaks.org
ChedrauiLeaks.org is a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers, to investigate the connections between the Chedraui family and other Mexican elites and their links to business and property in the United States, the business and political activities of Mexican elites generally, and provide information about the struggle of El Super workers for a better life.
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