Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business oligarch, investor and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by Forbes business magazine. He derived his fortune from his extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso. , the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranked him as the 18th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$99.1 billion, making him the richest person in Latin America.

Slim's corporate conglomerate spans numerous industries across the Mexican economy, including education, health care, industrial manufacturing, transportation, real estate, mass media, mining, energy, entertainment, technology, retail, sports and financial services. However, the core of his fortune derives from telecommunications, where he owns América Móvil (with operations throughout Latin America) and the Mexican carrier Telcel and Internet service provider Telmex, a state-run-gone-private company which maintained a virtual monopoly for many years after Slim's acquisition. He accounts for 40 per cent of the listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange. As of 2016, he was the largest single shareholder of non-voting shares of the New York Times Company. In 2017, he sold half of his shares.

Early life

Slim was born on 28 January 1940, in Mexico City, to Julián Slim Haddad (born Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz) and Linda Helú Atta, both Maronite Christians from Lebanon. He decided at a young age that he wanted to be a businessman when he grew up, and received business lessons from his father, who taught him basic financial, business management, and accounting principles by instructing him in how to analyze and interpret financial statements in addition to stressing the young Carlos in the importance of keeping accurate financial records when doing business.

At the age of 11, Slim invested in a government savings bond, which taught him about the concept of compound interest. Adhering to his father's emphasis on the importance of keeping accurate financial records, he eventually saved every financial and business transaction he ever made into a personal ledger book, which he still keeps to this day. At the age of 12, he made his first stock investment, by buying shares outright of a Mexican bank. By the age of 15, Slim had become a shareholder in Mexico's largest bank. At the age of 17, he earned 200 pesos a week working for his father's company. He went on to study civil engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he also concurrently taught algebra and linear programming.

Though Slim was a civil engineering major, he also displayed an interest in economics. Broadening his academic interests outside his traditional area of study beyond civil engineering, he took economics courses in Chile when he completed his engineering degree.

Career

1960s

After graduating from university in 1961, Slim launched his business career by starting off as a stock trader in Mexico, often working 14-hour days to make a name for himself in the Mexican business world. In 1965, he also acquired Jarritos del Sur, a Mexican bottling and soft drink company. In 1966, worth (), he established Inmuebles Carso, a Mexican real estate agency and holding company.

1970s

Companies in the Mexican construction, soft drink, printing, real estate, bottling and mining industries were the initial focus of Slim's burgeoning business career. By 1972, he had established or acquired a further seven businesses in these industry categories, which included the acquisition of a construction equipment rental company. In 1980, he consolidated his business interests by forming Grupo Galas as the parent company of a conglomerate that had interests in industrial manufacturing, construction, mining, retail, food, and tobacco. Much of Slim's business dealings involved a simple strategy, which entails buying a business and retaining it for its cash flow, or eventually selling the stake at a greater profit in future, thereby netting the capital gains as well as reinvesting the initial principal into a new business. In addition, the complexity of Grupo Carso's corporate conglomerate structural labyrinth web of companies allows Slim to purchase a manifold of stakes across a wide range of industries, thereby making the overall conglomerate nearly recession-proof in the event that one or more industry sectors of the Mexican economy underperform. Slim also acquired a 40% and 50% interest in the Mexican arms of British American Tobacco and The Hershey Company, respectively. He acquired large blocks of Denny's and Firestone Tires. From Seguros de México, Fianzas La Guardiana and Casa de Bolsa Inbursa, he formed the Grupo Financiero Inbursa, a Mexican financial services provider. Many of these corporate acquisitions were financed by the income-generating revenues and cash flows derived from Cigatam, a Mexican tobacco distributor that he purchased in the economic downturn that hit Mexico during the early 1980s. By 2006, Telmex controlled and operated 90 percent of the telephone lines in Mexico, and his wireless telecommunications company, Telcel, which was created out of the Radiomóvil Dipsa company, Much of the rationale behind Slim's international commercial expansion beyond Mexico was due to a running joke in Mexican business circles that "there was nothing left to acquire in Mexico." Telmex has taken numerous stakes of various international cellular telephone operators outside of Mexico, including the Brazilian ATL and Telecom Americas concerns, Techtel in Argentina, and others in Guatemala and Ecuador. In subsequent years, the company made further investments across Latin America, with companies in Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador, well as a joint venture with the American software house, Microsoft called Tlmsn, a Spanish-language web portal.

thumbnail|right|250px|Arriving at the Presidential Palace for a meeting with Brazil's President [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 24 October 2007]]

In 2007, after having amassed a 50.1% stake in the Cigatam tobacco manufacturer, Slim sold a large portion of his equity to Philip Morris for US$1.1billion (). During the same year, Slim sold off his entire stake of Porcelanite for US$800 million (), a Mexican tile-maker that he acquired back in 1990. He also licensed the Saks name and opened the Mexican arm of Saks Fifth Avenue retailer in Santa Fe, Mexico. Also in 2007, the estimated value of all of Slim's companies totaled US$150billion (). although the information technology division of CompUSA continued operating under the name Telvista around various American cities such as Dallas, Texas (U.S. Corporate Office), and Danville, Virginia. Telvista also has five centers in Mexico (three in Tijuana, one center in Mexicali, and one in México City). After 28 years of corporate involvement, Slim became the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the business.

In 2008, Slim took a 6.4% stake valued at $27 million () in the New York Times Company, a prominent American newspaper publisher. Slim's stake in the Times increased again to 16.8% of the company's Class A shares on 20 January 2015 when he exercised stock options to purchase 15.9 million shares, making him the largest shareholder in the company. The New York Times Company's Class A shares are available for purchase by the public and offer less control over the company than Class B shares, which are privately held.

2010s

In 2012, Slim sold the broadcast rights for the Leon games to the American terrestrial television network, Telemundo, the cable channel Fox Sports in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and the website mediotiempo.com. The games are also broadcast on the Internet through UNO TV, offered by Telmex. Slim has been involved with broadcasting sports outside Mexico to larger markets such as the United States. In March 2012, América Móvil acquired the broadcast rights for the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 and the Brazil 2016 for Latin America.

In March 2012, Slim, along with American television host Larry King, established Ora TV, an on-demand digital television network that produces and distributes television shows including Larry King Now, Politicking with Larry King, Recessionista, and Jesse Ventura Uncensored.

In September 2012, Slim bought 30% stakes in Pachuca and León, two Mexican soccer teams through his telecommunications company América Móvil. In December 2012, he bought all the shares of the second division team Estudiantes Tecos. Slim has also completed business deals for the television rights to games of the Leon soccer team. His company América Móvil purchased 30 percent of the team along with transmission rights as Slim does not have the rights to transmit content by broadcast television or cable TV as well as putting him in competition with Televisa and TV Azteca, two television companies with rights to the rest of Mexican soccer's first division.

In July 2013, Slim's company América Móvil invested US$40million () in Shazam, a British commercial mobile phone-based music identification service for an undisclosed share of ownership. América Móvil partnered with the company to aid its growth into advertising and television and help the audio recognition service expand in Latin America.

In November 2013, Slim invested US$60 million () in the Israeli startup Mobli, a company that deals with connections between people and communities corralled according to different interests.

In December 2013, Slim's private equity fund, Sinca Inbursa, sold its stake in the Mexican pharmaceutical company Landsteiner Scientific. Slim acquired a 27.51% stake in the company in June 2008, which represented 6.6% of Sinca's investment portfolio. The private equity fund's investments are mainly concentrated in the transportation and infrastructure sectors and the fund garnered a total market cap of 5.152 billion pesos at the end of 2012.

On 23 April 2014, Slim took control of Telekom Austria, Austria's largest telecommunications company, which operates telcos in countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia, and Belarus, under a 10-year agreement. It was Slim's first successful business acquisition in Europe. In a syndicate holding structure the Austrian state holding company OIAG's 28% are combined with Slim's 27% ownership. América Móvil will spend as much as () to buy out minority shareholders in a mandatory public offer and invest up to 1billion euros () into the company, which it sees as "platform for expansion into central and eastern Europe". Labor representatives boycotted attending the OIAG supervisory board meeting for 12 hours criticizing the lack of explicit job guarantees.

In January 2015, Grupo Carso publicly launched Claro Musica, an online music service that is a Latin American equivalent of iTunes and Spotify. Slim, along with his son, increased their corporate presence in Mexico's music industry, particularly in the retail music sector since 2013. Sanborn's, the Mexican retail department store chain owned by Slim controls a majority stake in Mixup, Mexico's most successful retail music store that comprises a chain of 117-store Mexican retailers Mixup also generated more than () in revenue in 2014.

On 15 April 2015, Slim formed the oil company Carso Oil & Gas. A report that was released by the new company listed its assets at 3.5billion pesos (approximately ), placed within 17.7million shares. Upon the formation of the company, Slim remained sanguine about the company's future potential and Mexico's burgeoning energy sector where the state monopoly ceased to exist.

On 25 July 2015, Slim's investment group Control Empresarial de Capitales invested in IMatchative, a technology startup that ranks the world's hedge funds creating in-depth behavioral profiles and business analytics. Limited partners pay () per subscription while hedge fund managers pay half the price and also sign up for a free version of the products the company offers.

2020s

In early 2024, a news-story surfaced mentioning the book Why Nations Fail, and referencing that Slim's fortune was amassed by forming a telecommunications monopoly thanks to his close relationship with the government and not by innovation.

On 12 June 2024, Slim acquired a three per cent stake in British telecommunications company BT worth approximately £400 million. In September 2024, his stake was boosted to 4.3%.

Philanthropy

Slim has been publicly skeptical of The Giving Pledge by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett giving away at least half of their fortunes. But—according to his spokesman—he devoted , or roughly 5%, to his Carlos Slim foundation as of 2011 (). Though Slim has not gone as far as Gates and Buffett in pledging more than half of his fortune, Slim has expressed firm support for philanthropy and has advised budding entrepreneurs that businessmen must do more than givethey "should participate in solving problems".

Fundación Carlos Slim

Established in 1986, Fundación Carlos Slim sponsors the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City, named after Slim's late wife, Soumaya Domit, opened 2011. It holds 66,000 pieces, including religious relics, contains the world's second-largest collection of Rodin sculptures, including The Kiss, the largest Salvador Dalí collection in Latin America, works by Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and coins from the viceroys of Spain. The inauguration in 2011 was attended by the President of Mexico, Nobel Prize laureates, writers and other celebrities.

After stating that he had donated of dividends to Fundación Carlos Slim, in 2006 (), and another in 2010 (), Slim was ranked fifth in Forbes' World's Biggest Givers in May 2011. Telmex donated at least $1 million to the Clinton Foundation ().

Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México A.C.

Slim has been Chair of the Council for the Restoration of the Historic Downtown of Mexico City since 2001.

In 2011, he, along with the president of Mexico, Mexico City mayor, and Mexico City archbishop, inaugurated the first phase of Plaza Mariana close to Basilica de Guadalupe. The complex, whose construction was funded by Slim, includes an evangelization center, museum, columbarium, health center, and market.

Personal life

Slim was married to Soumaya Domit from 1967 until her death in 1999. Among her interests were various philanthropic projects. Slim underwent heart surgery in 1999.

In his office, Slim does not have a computer, and instead keeps all his financial data in hand-written notebooks. and he is one of the prominent backers of Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious institute.

Family

Slim's father, Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz, was born on 17 July 1888 in Jezzine, Lebanon (then part of the Ottoman Empire). In 1902, at the age of 14, Haddad emigrated to Mexico alone, and later changed his name to Julián Slim Haddad.

In 1911, Julián established a dry goods retail store, La Estrella de Oriente (The Star of the Orient). By 1921, he had begun investing in real estate in the flourishing commercial district of Mexico City where he acquired prime Mexican real estate at fire sale prices in the Zocalo District during the 1910–1917 Mexican Revolution.

Net worth

Wealth

On 29 March 2007, Slim surpassed American investor Warren Buffett as the world's second-richest person, with an estimated net worth of () compared with Buffett's ().

On 4 August 2007, The Wall Street Journal ran a cover story profiling Slim. The article said, "While the market value of his stake in publicly traded companies could decline at any time, at the moment he is probably wealthier than Bill Gates".

On 5 March 2008, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's second-richest person, behind Warren Buffett and ahead of Bill Gates. It was the first time in 16 years that the person on top of the list was not from the United States. It was also the first time the person at the top of the list was from an emerging economy. Between 2008 and 2010, Slim more than doubled his net worth from $35 billion () to $75 billion ().

On 5 March 2013, Forbes stated that Slim was still maintaining his first-place position as the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of ().

On 15 July 2014, Forbes announced that Slim had reclaimed the position of the wealthiest person in the world, with a fortune of ().

In September 2014, Forbes listed Slim as number 1 on its list of billionaires, with a net worth of ().

In 2019, his net worth was said to be at least $58.1 billion (), making him the richest man in Mexico.

In October 2020, his net worth was estimated at $53.7 billion ().

In 2021, Forbes stated his net worth as $73.3 billion ().

Real estate

thumb|Carlos Slim, [[Adrián Barbón, José M. Sanguinetti, Juan M RiesgoVialás

]]

Slim is an active real estate investor. His real estate holding company, Inmobiliaria Carso has developed, invested, owned and operated an extensive portfolio of residential and commercial real estate properties across Mexico since the 1960s. His real estate company constructed Plaza Carso in Mexico City, where most of his business ventures share a common headquarters address. Since the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, Slim has been making private real estate investments internationally beyond Mexico, particularly in Spain and the United States. In May 2015, he listed the property for sale at $80 million ().

Criticism

Slim's immense wealth has been a subject of controversy, because it has been amassed in a developing country where average per capita income does not exceed () a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. Critics claim that Slim is a monopolist, pointing to Telmex's control of 90% of the Mexican landline telephone market. Slim's wealth is the equivalent of roughly 5% of Mexico's annual economic output. Telmex, of which 49.1% is owned by Slim and his family, charges among the highest usage fees in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Slim was criticized by the Dutch minister of economic affairs, Henk Kamp, in 2013 for attempting to expand his telecommunications empire beyond the Americas by América Móvil's buy-out offer to KPN, a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications operator. Kamp reiterated his criticisms of Slim stating: "an acquisition of KPN by a 'foreign company' could have consequences for the Netherlands' national security". Two years after Slim's failed bid to take over the company, mainly due to political intervention and Slim's paucity of interest in purchasing the company, Slim's América Móvil SAB began offering 2.25billion euros (). América Móvil now controls a 21.1 percent stake of KPN with a market value of 3.1billion euros () as of 20 May 2015. Slim has been slowly decreasing his holdings since he was forced to withdraw a 7.2-billion-euro bid () for the Dutch phone line carrier in 2013 after negotiations collapsed.

  • CEO of the year in 2003 by Latin Trade magazine
  • CEO of the decade in 2004 by Latin Trade magazine
  • Fundacion Telmex received in 2007 the National Sports Prize of Mexico for sports promotion
  • In 2008, his philanthropy was recognized with the award of The National Order of the Cedar by the Lebanese government.
  • On 20 May 2012, Slim was awarded an honorary doctorate in public service from George Washington University.
  • On 21 March 2020, he was awarded the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Sophia Award for Excellence at an awards luncheon.

See also

  • List of Maronites

References

  • Carlos Slim at Bloomberg L.P.