Who owns Montecristo?
Montecristo is owned by Habanos (Cuba).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Habanos, S.A. — official corporate site and brand pages. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Habanos S.A. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇺 Cuba, Havana
- Origin
- 🇨🇺 Cuba
- Founded
- 1935
- Category
- Tobacco & nicotine › Tobacco products › Cigars & cigarillos
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Montecristo
Montecristo was created in Cuba in 1935 at the H. Upmann factory in Havana and became Habanos S.A.'s best-known brand after Cohiba, named for the novel The Count of Monte Cristo that factory workers listened to being read aloud. Habanos S.A. sells the Cuban-made version worldwide except the United States. A separate Dominican-made "Montecristo" is sold inside the United States by Altadis U.S.A., part of Tabacalera USA, which the US trade embargo has kept as a wholly different, unrelated business since 1962.
Ownership timeline of Montecristo
Where Montecristo sits in Habanos
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Habanos ownership tree →
See the full Habanos brand portfolio (6) →
Other brands owned by Habanos
Habanos controls 6 brands on Brandtree, 6 of them in tobacco & nicotine.
Also in tobacco & nicotine
- Cohiba (1966)
- H. Upmann (1844)
- Hoyo de Monterrey
- Partagás (1845)
- Romeo y Julieta (1875)
Other brands in cigars & cigarillos, and who owns them
The 30 brands in cigars & cigarillos on Brandtree belong to 12 owners. The largest is Villiger, with 7; Habanos has 6.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Constellation | Villiger | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Cohiba (United States) | Scandinavian Tobacco Group | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| H. Upmann (United States) | Tabacalera USA | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Djarum Cigarillos | Djarum | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| Backwoods | Imperial Brands | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Black & Mild | Altria | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Jose Bartolo | Eastern Company | 🇪🇬 Egypt |
| Armenteros Handrolled Cigars | ITC | 🇮🇳 India |
About the owner: Habanos
Habanos is a state-owned company headquartered in Havana, Cuba, founded in 1994. Brandtree records 6 brands under its control.
Habanos S.A. is the exclusive worldwide commercial and marketing entity for Cuban hand-rolled cigars, formed in 1994 when the Cuban state carved marketing and export out of its tobacco monopoly Cubatabaco. It has been a 50/50 joint venture since 2000, with the Cuban state through Corporación Cubatabaco holding one half; the other half was held by Altadis (later a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco/Imperial Brands) from 2000 until October 2020, when Imperial sold its 50% stake to the investor consortium Allied Cigar Corporation, S.L. as part of a wider sale of its non-US premium cigar business. Habanos S.A. sells Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Partagás, Hoyo de Monterrey and other historic marks from Cuba to more than 150 countries — everywhere except the United States, which the US trade embargo has closed to Cuban cigars since 1962.
🇨🇺 Montecristo and other Cuban brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 8 brands that began in Cuba. 2 of them (25%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Montecristo is not one of them.
- Bacardi — Bacardi 🇧🇲
- Havana Club — Pernod Ricard 🇫🇷
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Montecristo?
The parent company of Montecristo is Habanos, a state-owned company headquartered in Cuba.
Is Montecristo owned by Tabacalera USA?
No. Montecristo is owned by Habanos, not Tabacalera USA.
Is Montecristo Cuban?
Yes. Montecristo originated in Cuba in 1935 and its owner, Habanos, is also headquartered in Cuba.
Is Montecristo still owned by Habanos?
Yes. As of 21 September 2026, Montecristo is still owned by Habanos. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Habanos, S.A. — official corporate site and brand pages — Habanos, S.A., Official document; retrieved 21 September 2026.
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