Trump picks Leon Medical Centers founder as Spain’s next ambassador. What to know
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated the founder of Miami’s Leon Medical Centers to be the country’s next ambassador to Spain.
Benjamín León Jr., 80, who donated a hefty amount to Trump’s reelection campaign, is the latest Floridian to be tapped by Trump for a position in his administration. The U.S. Senate will need to confirm León’s appointment before he can serve as one of the country’s top diplomats.
“Benjamin is a highly successful entrepreneur, equestrian, and philanthropist. He came to the U.S. from Communist Cuba at 16-years-old, with only Five Dollars in his pocket, and proceeded to build his company, Leon Medical Centers, into an incredible business,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, this week while announcing the nomination.
The Miami Herald has contacted León through his spokesperson to ask for comment.
Who is Benjamin Leon, Jr.?
Born in Cuba, León’s family has a long legacy of providing healthcare in Miami. León arrived to Miami in 1961 at 16. A few years later, his father helped establish Miami’s first prepaid medical center in 1964 to provide care for newly arrived Cuban exiles, according to his online biography. Later, the two founded Clínica Asociación Cubana, which became Florida’s first licensed HMO, essentially a one-stop shop for healthcare.
But León is most well known for founding Leon Medical Centers in 1996 to provide primary, specialty, pharmacy and other care for Miami’s seniors. His health empire is now one of the largest healthcare institutions in Florida, caring for more than 40,000 Medicare patients across Miami-Dade County, including in Miami, Hialeah, Kendall, Westchester and Homestead, with several centers, a fleet of vans to transport seniors and Leon Health, a Medicare Advantage Health plan that works with Leon Medical Centers.
Last year, he received the 2024 Dr. Ramiro Collazo Outstanding Citizen Award from the Miami Cuban Lions Club for his decades of service to the community, just like his father did years ago, for supporting nonprofits, medical and nursing educational institutions, and community projects related to the Cuban exile.
He recently gave Florida International University a $10 million gift for the new home of FIU’s CasaCuba, a Cuban cultural and academic center, and also helped support the creation of the Benjamin Leon Center for Geriatric Research and Education at FIU’s medical school and the Miami Dade College Benjamin Leon School of Nursing. He’s supported causes like La Liga Contra el Cancer and medical research at Johns Hopkins and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, according to Trump.
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Prominent Cuban American community leaders in South Florida, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart congratulated the health giant on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“As an outstanding member of the exiled Cuban-American community, he consistently gives back, advocating for freedom and standing up for those who are oppressed. Benjamin embodies the American dream and is a true patriot who will represent U.S. interests with great honor in Spain,” Diaz-Balart wrote on X, calling León a “true titan in the healthcare field.”
León, who divides his time between his home in Key Biscayne and his farm in Ocala, is also a real estate investor, with a swath of commercial and residential properties. A firm led by León recently sold a waterfront mansion on Key Biscayne to the owners of Estrella Insurance for $13.95 million, according to the South Florida Business Journal.
He’s donated thousands to politicians and political committees over the years and recently spent about $2.8 million to send Trump back to the White House this election cycle, according to Florida Politics. He’s made donations to other political candidates, including Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio; Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar; Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, a Democrat; and a political committee of Republican Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who easily won reelection in November, according to Florida Politics.
Trump nominates other Floridians for federal roles
Since winning the election, Trump has announced more than a dozen picks for key positions and high-profile roles in his administration. Besides León, several others have come from the Sunshine State, where Trump lives.
This includes Rubio, who was nominated for secretary of state; longtime political operative Susie Wiles for chief of staff; and former state Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was picked to be Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general after his first pick, Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration after new details emerged from old allegations of sexual misconduct. Former Florida congressman Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country’s top public health agency. Recently, Trump also nominated Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, who represents parts of Coral Gables, Hialeah and Miami, to be the next ambassador to Panama.
READ MORE: ‘It’s Florida’s time.’ Sunshine State residents rising to power in Trump’s D.C.
This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 4:13 PM.
