'Tequila family' build commercial property empire in US

Properties across US states worth more than $1bn

The $1bn property empire runs from Miami to Minneapolis. File picture

The heir to a fortune built on José Cuervo tequila has plowed cash into US commercial property for the past 15 years, quietly amassing a portfolio that runs from Miami to Minneapolis.

Juan Beckmann Vidal, the patriarch behind the tequila maker and other spirits housed under Becle, has purchased and developed at least 464,515sq m of mostly commercial properties across three US states. All told, the buildings are worth more than $1bn (€920m), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The property business has been entirely backed by the Beckmanns and has thus far declined co-investors, said José Antonio Perez, a Mexican lawyer by training who heads Agave Holdings, as the firm is known. 

Agave’s latest project, a mixed-use complex in trendy Coral Gables near Miami, is not only its most ambitious yet but emblematic of the US playbook of one of Mexico’s richest families, which holds a combined fortune of $7bn. 

Agave purchased the Coral Gables land out of foreclosure more than a decade ago. Its early arrival in South Florida is proving a boon as property prices skyrocket following the influx of new residents from the US and abroad. The new building, which is fully leased, will include offices for Apple. 

The firm is hoping to replicate that success in Chicago. Agave snapped up real estate in the city over recent years at steep discounts, betting one of the most battered commercial real estate markets in the US will eventually bounce back. 

Mr Beckmann “wants to maximise the square footage as part of a long-term strategy for future generations,” Mr Perez said in an interview in Miami. 

“In 15 years everything has been reinvested into Agave. He’s never taken a dime out of the company.” 

While Mr Beckmann, 84, continues to reside in Mexico along with his children who run publicly traded Becle, his relative Carlos Beckmann, a cousin from the second generation, is a managing director at Agave. 

The properties include the newly finished Plaza Coral Gables with office, residential, and retail space. Agave also owns 396 Alhambra in Coral Gables, which will house the headquarters for Fifa during the 2026 World Cup soccer tournament. 

In Chicago, it owns and operates two office towers, including one purchased last year at an almost 40% discount to the last time it was sold. In Minneapolis, it acquired a 93-room hotel. 

As pioneers of wealthy Latin American families building US property businesses, they’re now in talks with other investors and families to potentially partner outside of Agave or to offer expertise. 

Bloomberg