Antonio Asensio facts for kids
Antonio Asensio Pizarro (born June 11, 1947 – died April 20, 2001) was a very important Spanish businessman. He worked in the world of newspapers, magazines, and TV. When he was only 18, he took over his father's business. Later, in 1976, he started his own big company called Grupo Zeta. This company became very successful, especially with its popular magazine Interviú and the newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya. He also owned the football club RCD Mallorca.
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Early Life and First Steps
Antonio Asensio was born in Barcelona. He was the youngest of four children and the only boy. His father, also named Antonio, owned a workshop that made printing plates for books and newspapers.
Antonio studied industrial engineering. For a short time in 1965, he worked as a sports journalist. When he was 18, his father passed away. Antonio then bravely took over the family business.
Building Grupo Zeta
In March 1976, Spain was going through big changes towards democracy. Antonio Asensio and four friends decided to start a new company. They called it Grupo Zeta. Antonio became its president. They started with a small amount of money, about 500,000 Spanish pesetas.
Their first big success was a magazine called Interviú. It started in May 1976 and quickly became very popular. By 1978, it was selling 1 million copies! On October 26, 1978, they launched a daily newspaper, El Periódico de Catalunya. This newspaper became the most popular one in Catalonia. Around the time Antonio passed away, it was selling 194,000 copies every day.
By the time he died, Antonio's company was huge. It made about 61 billion pesetas (which is about €360 million) each year. Grupo Zeta owned ten magazines, six newspapers, and a publishing company called Ediciones B.
Involvement with Football
Antonio Asensio was also very interested in football. In 1998, he bought 99% of the football club RCD Mallorca. This made him the club's president.
His company, Gestora de Medios Audiovisuales (GMA), also bought rights to broadcast football matches. This led them to own parts of other football teams too. They owned 90% of Málaga CF, 63% of Hércules CF, 32% of Sevilla FC, and 22% of Sporting de Gijón. However, there was a law that said one group couldn't own more than 5% of different teams. So, Antonio sold his shares in those other clubs.
His time as president of RCD Mallorca was the most successful period in the club's history. The team did very well. Later, when his company stopped being a shareholder, the club's performance went down. Today, Mallorca's training center is named in his honor.
Family Life
Antonio Asensio married Chantal Mosbah, who was from France and Algeria. They had three daughters and one son. One of their daughters was adopted from China. His son, also named Antonio, took over the family business when he was 19 years old. Antonio's oldest daughter, Ingrid, married Fernando Sanz. Fernando was a football player for Real Madrid CF and the son of Real Madrid's president, Lorenzo Sanz.
Antonio Asensio passed away in Barcelona at the age of 53. He died from a brain tumour.
See also
In Spanish: Antonio Asensio Pizarro para niños
