Enrique Tomás: "I will live well until I am 100 years old, it is a personal decision"

BarcelonaEnrique Tomás Ruiz (Badalona, ​​1966) has the gift of gab of a neighborhood shopkeeper and the eloquence of a successful entrepreneur accustomed to giving talks explaining his business model and philosophy of life. Four figures to understand the phenomenon: he sells 3,000 hams every day and has 179 points of sale in 11 different countries. His company, which last year had a turnover of more than 300 million euros, employs 1,700 people. He has just separated from his wife, bought a second private plane, and is planning a big party for his 60th birthday. Oh, and he warns that he is determined to live to 100.

Do you like the title of king of ham?

— I prefer the emperor ham one. The Newspaper I've been caricatured twice: the first time as the King of Ham, and the second as the Emperor. Joking aside, I hope that one day I'll be remembered as someone who helped put ham in its rightful place. It's not there yet, and I've been at it for 48 years. Ham is the best food product in the world. It's the only thing you can eat at any time, it's healthy, and we should put it on the world stage—along with truffles and caviar, if you like—but it has to be there.

Do the revenue and employee figures you have in the company make you proud or worried?

— Responsibility, absolute responsibility. Money doesn't buy happiness, but a lack of money prevents you from being happy.

Aren't you twice as happy now that you're making 300 million than when you were making 150 million?

— No way!

How many brothers are you?

— There were eleven siblings, and I was the youngest. Plus my grandmother and parents, there were fourteen of us living in a 55-square-meter apartment in the La Salut neighborhood of Badalona. The six girls and my grandmother shared one room; the boys, another; and my parents, who were selfish, kept the largest room. They came from Orihuela, in Alicante, and all eleven of us were born here.

You've experienced both sides of life: that of a humble family, and now, do you have a private plane?

— Yes, I have two private planes. I just bought a really cool one.

You've owned a Porsche, a Ferrari...

— Yes, Ferrari, Porsche, now I've bought a Maybach, which is like an airplane that drives down the street.

I find it hard to understand these inequalities, that there can't be a limit.

— Jim Carrey says he wishes everyone were rich and famous so they could realize that being rich and famous doesn't guarantee happiness. Most people don't have a healthy relationship with money.

It'll drive you crazy, I suppose.

— If you're not prepared and it hits you suddenly, you'll usually be overwhelmed. We see that in Lamine's case. Can anyone truly understand what he went through? From being in a neighborhood where people would tell him "Moor, you're not coming in" to having the world at his feet... My situation is completely different. I was already working at home when I was 8, and I finished primary school at 12—I was the only one in my family to complete it—and I was already working Monday through Saturday.

Did your parents own shops?

— My parents had children so they wouldn't have dependents. My father worked in a textile factory, and when their third child arrived, they opened a dairy, a grocery store back then. I see life as working, working, and working. When you've worked so hard to earn money, I guarantee you won't throw it away. I bought a plane because I'll get my money's worth. I don't fly routes that don't make sense. My plane is for going to Salamanca, which is an eight-hour trip each way. Try going to Vitoria, try going to Córdoba...

We don't need to go that far: try taking Rodalies.

— I use the Rodalies train a lot. It takes me 23 minutes to get from Badalona to Sants.

Are you telling me you have two private planes and you travel by commuter rail?

— Of course! And I go to Madrid by AVE high-speed train. Why have I bought such a big car now? Because in the next two years, no one can be sure they'll arrive in Madrid on time.

The other day I was watching a documentary series about Jeffrey Epstein and, in the background, there is also money, power.

— I disagree. What exists is a disease; they are sexual predators.

But this is not an isolated case. It is a network of powerful and wealthy people from all over the world who believe they are above the law.

— We've seen this in the lowest social strata, too. Some people are born evil. If you have more power, you have more opportunities to do harm. But if you become a priest, you'll also have access to vulnerable people. At the Marist school in Badalona, ​​we experienced a terrible case, and believe me, I'm a believer in God. I'm particularly sensitive to this issue. I've had two wives, I have a daughter, and I have no doubt that they've been harassed on more than one occasion. Don't associate it with money. It exists in absolutely every social class.

You say that you "have had" two women, in the past tense.

— Yes, yes. This is the first time I've told this story, and I'm saying it today because my son and I talked about it ten days ago. I just separated after twelve years together. A wonderful woman, a fantastic son, and we'll make a great team. These days, the hard part is staying together for very long, because there are so many... inputsSo many possibilities...

You have two grown children with your first wife, and a third child, 10 years old, with your second wife. Were you a more absent father to the first two?

— If you ask my second wife, she'll tell you I was also an absent father. I believe a father is a father and a mother is a mother. A father should complement a mother. I miss my father a lot, but I live with my mother by my side every day, and she passed away in 2019. A mother is a mother.

That's a thorny issue, Enrique. I'm not sure I understand you...

— And I don't know if I've made myself clear. But I'm not here to say what's politically correct.

Are you not politically correct?

— Look, today Minister Ordeig called me to thank me for making a statement saying it was the first time an outbreak of swine fever had been handled well. Why? Because he's a socialist? Why does everyone assume I must be a member of the People's Party?

What do you mean, that people think you're a member of the People's Party because you have two private planes?

— People assume that if you own a private plane, you must be right-wing. Cause and effect.

And you're not?

— Not a chance. But I'm not a leftist either.

Oh, wow.

— I believe in management policy.

How do you define yourself politically?

— Whenever I can do something for someone, I do it. Sister Lucía Caram gives out 100 ham sandwiches every day at the Santa Clara convent in Manresa, and Father Ángel gives out another 100 at the San Antón church in Madrid. Is this being left-wing or right-wing?

It's about being supportive.

— Not even that. It's the most normal thing in the world.

That's what I was saying before: what's strange is that we've normalized the inequalities that exist in the world. How can it be that 100 people have the same amount of money as half the world's population?

— First, this is very wrong. And second: let's picture the richest man in the world. Does anyone think Elon Musk is happy? Is anyone envious of him?

What is your concern today?

— That when someone buys one of our sandwiches, they don't get what they're supposed to get. A sandwich is a transmission of love. What's inside matters, and there should be love. I'm very concerned that the 1,400 people who make sandwiches, who surely didn't dream of doing this, put love into it.

Do you think you pay your employees well?

— In 2022, I made a decision and shared it at a business meeting. Can we really say that people are poor if they earn less than €1,500 net? If you live with a partner, that's €3,000 between you, €1,000 for rent, and you can survive on €2,000. "There aren't enough staff," they complained. But how do you expect there to be enough staff? Let's be sensible and pay what's necessary.

Is there no one in your company who earns less than 1,500 euros net?

— Nobody. And we're not an NGO: if someone doesn't deserve it, we'll have to let them go so someone else can come in. It's a decision I made after Covid, when we started to breathe again.

This year, 2026, we'll both be 60 years old, you on September 28th and me on October 5th. Is that just another number for you, or is it a real milestone?

— I think it's a turning point. They say it comes in seven-year cycles. From 49 to 56 is when a person is most efficient in their life, because you're still young and you're wise. When you reach 56, you realize that life is finite. Your idols die—Cruyff, Brigitte Bardot, Robert Redford—and your friends die too. You can take it badly and start getting plastic surgery and Botox, and more Botox, and more Botox, or you can get rid of all the baggage you've accumulated. I'm deleting contacts from my phone now: I had 5,000 and now I only have 590 left. Do it; it'll give you pleasure.

I have 1,600 contacts.

— So you're a very measured guy.

If everything goes as it should, we are lucky with our health, and we meet our life expectancy, we would still have a third of our life left.

— I don't know about you, but I'll live well until I'm 100. Well, I mean. fullIt's a personal decision. I'm serious. You've put your health in the hands of luck, and I don't agree with that.

How many cases do we know of people who have led impeccable lives and have passed away at 30, 40 or 50 years old!

— Don't sow seeds and see how many times you'll reap. If you sow, you might get caught in a downpour and ruin your harvest, but we have to be sensible. Let's take care of ourselves! I imagine myself at 80 or 90, practically the same as I am now. The best time of life is now. Among other things, because otherwise, what would be the point? I wouldn't go back to being 30 for anything. I've stopped drinking alcohol; I try to have only one drink a day. Alcohol isn't good.

But life is a bit more cheerful, isn't it?

— I'll buy that. If you can have a drink now and then, I'll buy it. But I can't.

Because you are not a man of moderation, like me.

— I'm an excessive person, that's why I had to quit smoking. I either drink or I don't. I've never had problems with alcohol. But I have a very active social life, and before I know it, I've already had six drinks.

What does Badalona mean to you?

— It's the origin. I love Badalona, ​​it's very beautiful. Serrat didn't dedicate the song to it by chance. Of course it has its problems, but it seems like only the bad things are talked about.

What does Catalonia mean to you?

— What can I say... it's my country, no need to get into details. At the height of the Catalan independence movement, I was interviewed on RAC1 and I said: "I don't want independence, but if we become independent, I'm staying in this country." I wouldn't leave Catalonia for anything. It's the land that welcomed my parents.

Why don't you speak Catalan?

— Yes, I speak it. But I think in Spanish and I have to translate it. My mind works very fast and it's incredibly difficult for me.

Does this mean that in 60 years you haven't needed Catalan in Catalonia?

— Of course, I haven't had any problems. When I'm introduced as "a good Catalan"," I reply: "And You're one of those foolish Andalusians."Either someone from La Mancha or whatever. We are a wonderful society and we have a privileged land."

What does Spain mean to you?

— It's a big house where, as was the case in my own home, things aren't always shared fairly. There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a member of parliament, and almost every party approached me about it. I had achieved my material dreams very quickly and wanted to see if I could do something through politics. I had planned to run for office at 47, but then I met a girlfriend I hadn't expected and had a child I hadn't expected either. Now I've completely ruled out politics. I can do more from the outside than from within.