Nayib Bukele Biography: Age, Wife, Children, Net Worth, Height, Parents, Presidency, Bitcoin

Nayib Bukele is a prominent Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 81st president of El Salvador since 2019.

Renowned for his bold anti-gang policies and innovative use of social media, he has transformed El Salvador’s security landscape, earning both widespread popularity and international scrutiny for his authoritarian approach.

Profile

• Full Name: Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez
• Stage Name: Nayib Bukele
• Born: July 24, 1981
• Age: 43 years old
• Birthplace: San Salvador, El Salvador
• Nationality: Salvadoran
• Occupation: Salvadoran Politician, Businessman
• Height: 5 feet 8
• Parents: Armando Bukele Kattán, Olga Marina Ortez
• Siblings: Karim, Yusef, Ibrajim (younger brothers); four half-sisters, two half-brothers
• Spouse: Gabriela Rodríguez
• Children: 2, Layla Bukele, Aminah Bukele
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: $2 million to $30 million

Early Life and Education

Nayib Bukele was born on July 24, 1981, in San Salvador, El Salvador, to Armando Bukele Kattán, a prominent businessman and Muslim religious leader of Palestinian descent, and Olga Marina Ortez, a Catholic of Greek Orthodox and Catholic heritage.

Growing up in a privileged household with three younger brothers—Karim, Yusef, and Ibrajim—and six half-siblings, Bukele enjoyed a comfortable upbringing, likened to that of a “boy prince” by The Guardian. His father, an industrial chemist and imam who founded four mosques in El Salvador, profoundly influenced his worldview.

Bukele completed his secondary education at the prestigious Escuela Panamericana in 1999. He enrolled at Central American University in San Salvador to study law but dropped out at 18 to join his father’s advertising firm, Nölck, and later founded his own marketing company, Obermet, focusing on political campaigns for the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

Career

Nayib Bukele began his career in business, managing a nightclub and a Yamaha dealership before founding Obermet in 1999, which supported FMLN election campaigns. He entered politics in 2011, joining the FMLN and winning the mayoral election in Nuevo Cuscatlán in 2012, where he implemented community-focused initiatives like scholarships and a 24-hour clinic.

Elected mayor of San Salvador in 2015, he revitalized the capital with urban projects, earning recognition such as the keys to Gaithersburg, Maryland. Expelled from the FMLN in 2017 for internal conflicts, Bukele founded the Nuevas Ideas party but ran for president in 2019 with the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) after electoral hurdles, winning with 53% of the vote.

As president, his Territorial Control Plan and aggressive gang crackdown, including mass incarcerations under a state of emergency, reduced homicides dramatically, transforming El Salvador from the “murder capital” to one of Latin America’s safest countries, per government data. His adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender and focus on tourism, like “Bitcoin Beach,” marked economic innovation, though controversial.

Re-elected in 2024 with 84.65% of the vote, Bukele’s policies have drawn criticism for undermining judicial independence and civil liberties.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @nayibbukele
• Facebook Handle: Nayib Bukele
• Twitter Handle: @nayibbukele

Personal Life

Nayib Bukele, lives in Los Sueños, an upscale neighborhood near Nuevo Cuscatlán, with his wife, Gabriela Rodríguez, a psychologist and prenatal education specialist with Jewish-Sephardic roots, whom he married on December 6, 2014. They have two daughters, Layla (born 2019) and Aminah (born 2023).

Bukele met Gabriela in 2004, and she has supported his political career while leading PrePare, El Salvador’s first prenatal teaching center. Raised in a multifaith household—his father an imam, his mother Catholic—Bukele identifies as a believer in Jesus Christ but avoids strict religious affiliation, a topic debated during his 2019 campaign.

He is known for his modern persona, playing piano and guitar, and engaging directly with the public via social media, often sharing family moments or policy updates. His brothers, Karim, Yusef, and Ibrajim, are key advisors, forming a tight-knit circle of influence.

Filmography

• ABC News Breakfast (archive footage) – Appeared as himself. Nayib Bukele has no significant acting roles, as his career focuses on politics and business.

Net Worth

Nayib Bukele has an estimated net worth ranging from $2 million to $30 million. His wealth primarily stems from his pre-political business ventures, including Obermet and a Yamaha dealership, as well as his presidential salary of $5,181 monthly (as of 2019).