The Economic Expansion of an Elite Business Family of French Origin in Central Mexico in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This article describes how a French family, the Jeans, built and expanded its wealth in Central Mexico in the first half of the twentieth century. It explains how this family, using a different strategy than other French businessmen who settled in that region, began in textiles and diversified into the financial and housing sectors. The article also explores whether the Mexican Revolution and the early agrarian reform programs affected their properties and/or economic activities. Finally, the article explains how a branch of this family linked into the most powerful media family in Mexico and persisted among the Mexican economic elite until today.