José Kamel Nacif Borge (born 1946 in Mexico City) is a Mexican businessman of Lebanese[1] descent known in his country as "El Rey de la Mezclilla" (the Denim King). Once considered one of the richest men in Mexico.[2]
He started out as a small merchant by importing fabrics from overseas until he eventually built a textile empire that employed over 20,000 people. In 1999, he partnered with an apparel company known as the Tarrant Apparel Group, who manufactured denim jeans for brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Chaps, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle Outfitters.[3]
In 2002 Vicente Fox and Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía celebrated with him a new export textile factory in San Cristobal de las Casas.
In 2004 he acquired 100% of the company "Tarrant Apparel Group", an organization with subsidiaries in Chile, China, Thailand, Korea and in the United States for $44 million. The Sun Herald referred to an investigation of the Game Commission of Nevada about the involvement of Nacif Borge in drug trafficking and weapons smuggling. His close relationship with the Mexican government was confirmed when he became the beneficiary of a soft loan of 5 million dollars during the Fobaproa program.