World's wealthiest people 2012: Forbes magazine - Forbes: 5 wealthiest people - Pictures - CBS News Forbes: 5 wealthiest people Next World's wealthiest people 2012: Forbes magazine Four of the five tycoons atop Forbes magazine's list of the wealthiest people on Earth are self-made billionaires. The 2012 rankings size up 1,226 fat cats, according to net worth individually. Billionaire Li Ka-shing, pictured, made the top ten list - find out who came out ahead of him. Credit: iStockphoto 1. Carlos Slim Helu Mexican mogul Carlos Slim Helu tops Forbes' list of the richest people in the world for the third year in a row. The 72-year-old billionaire is the son of a Lebanese immigrant, a father of six and the chairman of Telemex, which controls 80 percent of Mexico's landline telephone market. Slim's net worth of $69 billion outranks the second wealthiest on the list by $8 billion, despite being down $5 billion from a year ago. Credit: Getty Images 2. Bill Gates At $61 billion, Bill Gates is ranked No. 2 on Forbes' rich list.

The 56-year-old tycoon dropped out of Harvard University in 1975 and co-founded Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ). He's America's wealthiest person. Bill Gates and his billionaire bud Warren Buffett have talked many of the world's wealthiest individuals into signing the " Giving Pledge ," an effort to convince the richest people to give at least 50 percent of their wealth away to philanthropic causes. Credit: Getty Images 3. Warren Buffett Third wealthiest on Forbes' list is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A ), Warren Buffett. He is arguably the most successful investor in the world. The 81-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska, a Master of Science degree from Columbia University and has a net worth of $44 billion. Credit: Getty Images 4. Bernard Arnault Bernard Arnault claims the No. 4 spot on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest. The chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) oversaw strong sales in 2011 of his company's lines of highly coveted designer goods, which boosted the company's profit 22 percent.

His net worth of $41 billion makes the 63-year-old Frenchman Europe's richest person. Credit: Getty Images 5. Amancio Ortega Gaona Seventy-five-year-old Amancio Ortega Gaona has a net worth of $37 billion, which makes him fifth on Forbes' list of the richest people. Spain's Ortega retired last year as chairman of Inditex, a global fashion firm and the parent company of Zara -- a tremendously popular chain of retail stores. Inditex shares in the past year have jumped roughly 25 percent. The boost in Inditex's market value pushed him into the top 5 of the world's wealthiest for the first time. Credit: Getty Images World's wealthiest people 2012 Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, former H&M chief executive Stefan Persson, Chinese businessman Li Ka-shing and discount supermarket mogul Karl Albrecht make up the rest of Forbes' top 10 list of the world's wealthiest people for 2012. Click here to see the full list. Credit: Getty Images Carlos Slim Helu & family #1 in Mexico Carlos Slim Helu has been hit hard by Donald Trump's election.

The world's second richest man in 2015, he hit major headwinds in the past year; his net worth declined by nearly $5 billion in just four days after the U.S. general election. Previously, shares of his pan-Latin American mobile phone operator, America Movil, took a beating in 2015 and early 2016 in the wake of new Mexican telecom regulations, a weaker Mexican peso and economic decline in Brazil. That drove a $27.1 billion drop in Slim's net worth, making him the biggest dollar loser on the 2016 Forbes Billionaires List. Slim is the largest shareholder of The New York Times, with a nearly 17% stake. He also owns a majority stake in industrial conglomerate Grupo Carso, financial venture Grupo Financiero Inbursa and infrastructure development and operating company Ideal.

More » More On Forbes Carlos Slim Helu Biography | Biography Carlos Slim Helu Biography October 5, 2012 - ENTREPRENEUR - no comments Carlos Slim Helu Full name: Carlos Slim Helu Born: 28, January 1940 Net worth: $76.4 billion (2005) Spouse: Soumaya Domit Marital Status: Widowed Children: 6 Carlos Slim Helu is a Mexican entrepreneur, business magnate, and philanthropist. He developed various kinds of companies including telecommunications, retail banking, insurance, technology and auto parts manufacturing business. He is currently the richest person in the world according to Forbes Magazine (2012) with the net worth $69 billion behind Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. He is the current chairman and CEO of Telmex and Movil. Early Life: Carlos Slim Helu was born on 28 January 1940 in Mexico City to Julian Slim Haddad and Linda Helu. His parents were Maronite Christian and Lebanese descent.

His father, born Yusef Slim Haddad, immigrated to Mexico in 1902 at the age of 14 and changed his first name to Julian. It was common for Lebanese children to be sent abroad before the age of 15 to avoid being conscripted into the Ottoman army, at the time of his arrival four of Haddad’s older brothers were already living in Mexico. His mother Linda Helu’s parents also immigrated to Mexico in the late 19th century. Julián Slim and Linda Helú married In August 1926 and they had six children Nour, Alma, Julián, José, Carlos, and Linda. Carlos was the 5th of 6children and he studied on Civil Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Personal Life: Carlos married to Soumaya Domit in 1967 and Domit bore six children- Carlos, Marco Antonio, Patrick, Soumaya, Vanessa, and Johanna. Currently, he is single from his wife’s death in 1999. Business Career: Carlos Slim started his operation with the purchase shares of a Mexican bank at the age of 12.

Carlos started his business mission with his own a brokerage firm that later extended to invest in individual businesses. In his early career, he focused on construction, real estate, and mining business. In 1976, he started a printing business then he expanded his trade in industry, construction, mining, retail, food and tobacco. In 1982 Mexican economy fell down for less oil export and at the time of recovery Carlos invested heavily in Mexican economy eventually got large profit. He added the Nacrobre group of companies as well as the Grupo Carso between 1986 and 1990 Later in 1990, he bought a landline telephone company Telmex from the Mexican government which company operated 90 percent of the telephone lines in Mexico 2006. However, Carlos increased phone call costs soon after purchasing the company but he enhanced phone services in Mexico with the company offering mobile phone services, Internet services, a telephone directory as well as local and long distance calls. Grupo Carso was expanded into three companies- Carso Global Telecom, Grupo Carso, and Invercorporación.

In 1999 Slim wanted to expand his business beyond Latin America eventually he set up Telmex in USA and América Móvil was incorporated with his in 2000. He also invested in the Volaris airline in 2005. Carlos is the owner of the largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the world even though he has poor knowledge about computer and telecommunication. He was correctly thinking that internet and technology are the major growth area in his business. Slim is also the owner of the major computer retailer CompUSA, with more than 200 retail stores all over the USA and Puerto Rico. Forbes magazine ranked him as a 4th richest person in the world in 2005 with net worth $23.8 billion dollars, 3rd in 2006 with a net worth $30 billion and Forbes named Slim as the world’s second-richest person, behind Warren Buffett and ahead of Bill Gates on 5 March 2008. Forbes finally showed that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world’s richest man, with a net worth of $53.5 billion on 10 March 2010.

When, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett had a net worth of $53 billion and $47 billion respectively. Similar Biography Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine Published 06:20 March 2, 2015 Updated 06:20 March 2, 2015 Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine Forbes List: 10 richest people in the world Associated Press - 2 March 2015 12:20-05:00 NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Gates, the founder of technology company Microsoft Corp., topped Forbes' 2015 list of the world's top billionaires for the second straight year. In 2013, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu was on top. He ranked second this time. Forbes said it calculated each person's net worth based on stock prices and exchange rates on Feb. 13, 2014. Here's... This story is part of New Europe's Premium content.

To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In from the ↑ Top of the Page ↑ Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine - Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine Mar 2, 2015 The Associated Press NEW YORK, N.Y. – Bill Gates, the founder of technology company Microsoft Corp., topped Forbes’ 2015 list of the world’s top billionaires for the second straight year. In 2013, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu was on top. He ranked second this time. Forbes said it calculated each person’s net worth based on stock prices and exchange rates on Feb. 13, 2014. Here’s a list of the Top 10: 1. Bill Gates Source of wealth: Technology company Microsoft Corp. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Investment holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Retail chain Zara Nationality: Spanish Source of wealth: Technology company Oracle Corp. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Conglomerate Koch Industries.

Nationality: American Source of wealth: Conglomerate Koch Industries. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Nationality: American Source of wealth: Cosmetics company L’Oreal Nationality: French Show comments Hide comments (1) One comment on “Forbes lists 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine” My dream would not be just a single place. Just having the money and ability to travel and see it all. March 11, 2015 at 5:54 pm Top In-class program Create a new password We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed. We'll send you a link to create a new password. {* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* traditionalSignIn_emailAddress *} Thank you for signing up! We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. With your existing account from {* loginWidget *} Almost Done! Please confirm the information below before signing up.

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{* backButton *} {* createAccountButton *} The World According To Carlos Slim The World According To Carlos Slim comments, called-out Amid the threat of a Greek debt default and a recession in Europe, Carlos Slim Helú has some words of advice for political leaders: Youre doing it wrong. Slim, a Mexican entrepreneur who built a $69 billion fortune over nearly five decades, thinks governments should stop trying to shrink budget deficits by shortchanging education. I am very concerned about the world in general. I think the solutions that [political leaders] are looking at are not the right solutions, he says. They are not looking for a ­different way to solve the problem. The worlds richest person, it turns out, has time these days to ponder weightier issues than where he should invest next. Since 2004 Slim, who recently turned 72, has stepped down from the boards of three of his largest companies. He wants nothing more than to tell me, when we meet at his Mexico City office in late January, how he would solve the challenges facing Europe, the U.S. and ­Mexico. He likes to talk and likes to revisit his roots.

We are sitting in heavy wooden chairs against the wall of books in his office when he gets up to grab a notebook he kept when he was 17. In it he had recorded his pay, 200 pesos a week, for working at his familys company. Another entry noted that his mother had lent him 5,000 pesos to buy stocks. Slims business empire is dominated by telecommunications but also includes finance, mining, real estate, infrastructure, retailing and heavy industry. His biggest success by far began with the $1.76 billion privatization of state-owned phone company Telmex in late 1990, led by his ­industrial conglomerate, Grupo Carso, alongside France Telecom and Southwestern Bell (now AT&T). Last year Telmex became part of América Móvil, a much expanded version of Telmexs onetime cellular arm. Slims 43% stake in the pan-Latin American company clocks in at nearly $39 billion–more than half of his current net worth. Given this history, its not surprising that privatization of state-owned assets is Slims first suggestion for struggling ­European economies.

Lets talk about Spain. It has a lot of highways, and they are all free, he says. They should charge users and sell [the highways] to the private sector. The government can use the money from selling the highways to avoid making big cuts in social programs, Slim advises. Unemployment must also be addressed, he says. The problem is that people have no jobs and no hope. When I suggest that creating jobs takes time, he disagrees. Some investments create a lot of jobs and other ­investments dont. His counsel: Invest in small and medium-size ­businesses, the engines of job creation, in labor-intensive industries such as tourism, health care, education and entertainment. Turning to the U.S., Slim sees a pressing need for better regulation of the banking system, including the requirement that risky derivatives be carried on financial institutions books. He reminds me that he founded his financial group, Inbursa, as a brokerage in 1965. It has since expanded to include a bank and an insurance company, and sports a market capitalization of $14 billion. Weve had growth for 47 years.

We have never lost money, even in the worst times of our country, he boasts, noting that Inbursa never needed the governments help. We dont look for size. We look for quality. Take that, Citigroup. Slim has put his sons, Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patrick, in charge of the industrial, finance and telecom companies he acquired or started. But hes clearly still engaged. His son-in-law Arturo Elías Ayub, who directs strategic alliances, ­communications and institutional relations at Telmex but ­essentially serves as one of Slims right-hand men, tells me: He decides what companies to buy, and I go and buy them. Whats next for the Slim conglomerate? For starters, more investment in his mining business, Minera Frisco, a company created in early 2011 when Slim spun off mining assets owned by Grupo Carso into its own Mexican-stock-exchange-traded entity. The decision was a smart one.

Buoyed by high prices for precious metals, the market capitalization of Minera Frisco has soared to a recent $11.7 billion, 25% greater than that of its former parent, Grupo Carso. This company used to be medium-size, but it has the opportunity to grow and become a great mining company, says Slim. Some would argue that Frisco is still medium-size–revenue for 2011 was $665 million. Investors are clearly expecting enormous growth. As for telecom, América Móvil will invest around $9 billion annually over the next four years, improving its mobile and fixed-line networks throughout Latin America so it can transmit data more quickly. We are going for faster speed, says Slim. One area of focus, he adds, is connecting small and medium-size businesses to the Internet. In Mexico many consider Slim a telecom monopolist because his companies have roughly 70% of the wireless market and an 80% share of landlines.

Critics blame him for excessive prices, and a report released by the OECD in late January (after our interview) stated that the lack of competition in Mexico in telecommunications has led to high prices for consumers and businesses and has cost the Mexican economy $25 billion a year. Slim vehemently disagrees. Even before that report came out Slim was eager to rebut the charges of high prices: Thats what competitors say, but if that were true, they would take the market from us, he says, bristling a bit. The customers are not fools. He pulls out a chart from a December report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch showing wireless revenues at 4 cents per minute in Mexico, nearly as low as the U.S., with 3 cents. Thats quite a cynical take on monopoly pricing power and cost structures, says billionaire Ricardo Salinas, who is chairman of mobile network competitor Iusacell and also ­controls Mexicos number two broadcaster, Azteca. What Mexico needs is a level regulatory playing field that makes long-term competition feasible.

Theres a fear with some ­government officials to take on the status quo. The rise in Slims net worth over the past three decades has been nothing short of remarkable. He first appeared on FORBES Billionaires list in 1991 at $1.7 billion, based ­primarily on his Grupo Carso stake. Nine years later Telmex split off its mobile phone service business into América Móvil, which listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in early 2001. By then Slims net worth had grown to $10.8 billion. In the following years América Móvil acquired mobile phone network operators throughout Central America and South America–it now operates in 18 countries, including Mexico and the U.S. Between 2004 and 2008 its split-adjusted share price grew sixfold to $30. That propelled Slim, with a $60 billion fortune, to move ahead of longtime No. 1 richest man Bill Gates in 2008 to No. 2, behind Warren Buffett. Slim held the title of worlds richest man in 2010, 2011 and this year.

When I ask Slim how his life has changed over two decades as an ever richer billionaire, he quips, Its not money. (True–its primarily the value of shares he and his family own in public companies.) Then he adds that his life hasnt changed at all. Like Warren Buffett, hes lived in the same house for much of his adult life. My bachelor house was better than where I have lived for 40 years, he says. I mention that he used to drive himself to work in a blue Thunderbird in the early 1990s. I still drive, he responds–but now, with security guards, in a four-year-old Mercedes. I press him again, and Slim does admit that having great wealth has indeed changed things. I have more activity, more responsibility and more compromise, he says. The compromise, he explains, is the challenge of solving Mexicos problems. Im trying to make our country better in the areas that I can. I am not the police, he adds, alluding to Mexicos ongoing, bloody battle against the drug cartels.

He wants his 6 children and his grandchildren (all 19 of them) to follow in his footsteps and do even more work to help Mexico change. His biggest goal is a fight against poverty–but not for the usual reasons. Its good economically. In the past it was something ethical and moral, he asserts, speaking like the rational capitalist he is. To take poor people out of poverty and put them in the modern economy is very good for the economy, for the country, for society and for business. It is the best investment. Its not something that should be left to the government, either. I think that businessmen and entrepreneurs have more experience managing resources, and we can more easily solve the problems than politicians, who have other views. They are thinking about elections, they are thinking about popularity, says Slim. I dont think that giving money should be something done for personal ­popularity. But how to do so? Slim is skeptical of traditional charity.

I am convinced that the private sector needs to give support, not money, because charity has not solved poverty in hundreds of years. He believes the best course for chipping away at poverty is using digital tools for education to, as he says, create human capital. Thats where Telmex, the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Telmex Foundation come in. The latest endeavor of Slims two foundations and Telmex is a system of digital libraries. Now, instead of going to the library, you go to a digital library where you can navigate [computers] completely free, says Slim. Instead of lending a book, well lend a laptop for 15 days. There are some 3,500 digital libraries. Slims aim is to enable 60% of Latin America to have access to computers by 2015–the same timeline set by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. So far these newfangled libraries are only in Mexico. Slim wont say how much of his fortune he plans on giving away.

So far hes put a total of $4 billion into the Carlos Slim Foundation–via $2 billion installments in 2006 and 2010, funded by dividends. Its main areas of focus are education and health. Its about the development of peoples potential. He wants to make it easier for people to generate wealth, explains Alejandro Soberón, the chief ­executive of entertainment company CIE and a longtime América Móvil board member. I travel all over Latin America, and I dont think theres another businessman whos had the impact hes had on health and education. In 2010 the Slim Foundation partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the government of Spain in a five-year program to improve the health of the poorest 20% of the population in southern Mexico and Central America; each partner contributed $50 million.

With the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard (funded by Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad), Slims foundation began collaborating in 2010 on a three-year study of the genomic roots of cancer and type 2 diabetes in Mexican and Latin American populations, with the Slim Foundation paying $65 million. Its a visionary piece of philanthropy, says Broad Institute director Eric Lander, explaining that in cancer the researchers were looking for mutations to help guide treatment. The Carlos Slim Health Institute has spent about $20 million since 2001 on organ transplants in Mexico, a nation with one of the lowest rates in Latin America for organ ­donations after death. Its a philanthropy born of personal tragedy. Slims wife, Soumaya, died of kidney disease in 1999 after getting a kidney transplant, and in 2008 his son Patrick was diagnosed with kidney disease. His brother Carlos gave him one of his kidneys. In a separate case, Slims daughter Vanessa donated a kidney to her brother Marco Antonio. The family has funded 7,100 transplants in the past decade. Slims philanthropic passion is matched by his love of art.

He opened a huge new museum in March last year, the Museo Soumaya, an undulating, mirrored building designed by his son-in-law architect Fernando Romero. It showcases some 3,400 of the 64,000 pieces of art Slim has collected. He beams as he recounts the number of visitors to date (650,000) and the fact that many are from schools and low-income groups or are people with disabilities. He is doing his part to educate and enlighten his countrymen (entrance is free). The collection–from Rodin and Dalí sculptures, old Mexican coins and Thomas Edisons first phonograph to Matisse paintings and Diego Rivera murals–makes for an overwhelming mix. This is the collection of a man whose curiosities, and whose wallet, know few limits. 4. Bernard Arnault - Forbes: 5 wealthiest people - Pictures - CBS News Forbes: 5 wealthiest people Next World's wealthiest people 2012: Forbes magazine Four of the five tycoons atop Forbes magazine's list of the wealthiest people on Earth are self-made billionaires.

The 2012 rankings size up 1,226 fat cats, according to net worth individually. Billionaire Li Ka-shing, pictured, made the top ten list - find out who came out ahead of him. Credit: iStockphoto 1. Carlos Slim Helu Mexican mogul Carlos Slim Helu tops Forbes' list of the richest people in the world for the third year in a row. The 72-year-old billionaire is the son of a Lebanese immigrant, a father of six and the chairman of Telemex, which controls 80 percent of Mexico's landline telephone market. Slim's net worth of $69 billion outranks the second wealthiest on the list by $8 billion, despite being down $5 billion from a year ago. Credit: Getty Images 2. Bill Gates At $61 billion, Bill Gates is ranked No. 2 on Forbes' rich list. The 56-year-old tycoon dropped out of Harvard University in 1975 and co-founded Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ). He's America's wealthiest person.

Bill Gates and his billionaire bud Warren Buffett have talked many of the world's wealthiest individuals into signing the " Giving Pledge ," an effort to convince the richest people to give at least 50 percent of their wealth away to philanthropic causes. Credit: Getty Images 3. Warren Buffett Third wealthiest on Forbes' list is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A ), Warren Buffett. He is arguably the most successful investor in the world. The 81-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska, a Master of Science degree from Columbia University and has a net worth of $44 billion. Credit: Getty Images 4. Bernard Arnault Bernard Arnault claims the No. 4 spot on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest. The chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) oversaw strong sales in 2011 of his company's lines of highly coveted designer goods, which boosted the company's profit 22 percent. His net worth of $41 billion makes the 63-year-old Frenchman Europe's richest person. Credit: Getty Images 5.

Amancio Ortega Gaona Seventy-five-year-old Amancio Ortega Gaona has a net worth of $37 billion, which makes him fifth on Forbes' list of the richest people. Spain's Ortega retired last year as chairman of Inditex, a global fashion firm and the parent company of Zara -- a tremendously popular chain of retail stores. Inditex shares in the past year have jumped roughly 25 percent. The boost in Inditex's market value pushed him into the top 5 of the world's wealthiest for the first time. Credit: Getty Images World's wealthiest people 2012 Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, former H&M chief executive Stefan Persson, Chinese businessman Li Ka-shing and discount supermarket mogul Karl Albrecht make up the rest of Forbes' top 10 list of the world's wealthiest people for 2012. Click here to see the full list. Credit: Getty Images Carlos Slim - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Carlos Slim For his son, see Carlos Slim Domit . This name uses Spanish naming customs ; the first or paternal family name is Slim and the second or maternal family name is Helú.

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim, October 24, 2007 Born World's wealthiest person (2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) Net worth US$ 73 billion (2013) [1] Religion Soumaya Domit (m. 1967–1999, her death) Children Carlos Slim Helú ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos esˈlim eˈlu] ; born January 28, 1940) is a Mexican business magnate , investor, and philanthropist. Slim has been ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world since 2010. [3] His extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate , Grupo Carso , SA de CV, have amassed interests in the fields of communications, technology, retailing, and finance. Presently he is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil .

América Móvil, which in 2010 was Latin America’s largest mobile-phone carrier, accounted for around US$49 billion of Slim's wealth by the end of 2010. [4] His corporate holdings as of March 2013 have been estimated at US$73 billion. [3] Contents [ edit ] Early life Slim was born in Mexico City , Mexico in 1940 to Maronite Catholic parents Julián Slim Haddad and Linda Helú, both of Lebanese descent. [5] [6] His father, born Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz, emigrated to Mexico from Lebanon (then part of the Ottoman Empire ) at the age of 14 in 1902 and changed his name to Julián Slim Haddad. [5] It was not uncommon for Lebanese children to be sent abroad before they reached the age of 15 to avoid being conscripted into the Ottoman army; four of Haddad's older brothers were already living in Mexico at the time of his arrival.

[7] Carlos Slim's mother, Linda Helú Atta, was born in Parral, Chihuahua , of Lebanese parents who had immigrated to Mexico in the late 19th century. Her parents upon immigrating to Mexico had founded one of the first Arabic language magazines for the Lebanese-Mexican community, using a printing press they had brought with them. [7] In 1911, Julián established a dry goods store, La Estrella del Oriente (The Star of the Orient). By 1921, he had purchased real estate in the flourishing commercial district of Mexico City. These enterprises became the source of considerable wealth. [7] In August 1926, Julián Slim and Linda Helú married. They had six children: Nour, Alma, Julián, José, Carlos and Linda. Julián senior, who had been influential in the Lebanese-Mexican business community, died in 1953. [7] [ edit ] Business career This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.

(February 2011) Slim and his siblings were taught basic business practices by their father, and at the age of 12, Slim bought shares in a Mexican bank. At the age of 17, he earned 200 pesos a week working for his father's company. [8] He went on to study civil engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico , while simultaneously teaching algebra and linear programming there. Slim began his career as a trader in Mexico. He would go on to form his own brokerage firm -- a firm that later expanded to invest in individual businesses, ranging from construction and manufacturing to retail and restaurants. In 1965 he incorporated Inversora Bursátil and then bought Jarritos del Sur. In 1966, already worth US$40 million, [9] he founded Inmobiliaria Carso. Three months later he married Soumaya Domit Gemayel (the Carso name derives from the first three letters of Carlos and the first two of Soumaya) and they remained married until her death in 1999. [7] Construction, real estate and mining businesses were the focus of his early career.

By 1972 he had established or acquired a further seven businesses in these categories, including one which rented construction equipment. In 1976 he branched out by buying a 60% interest in a printing business and in 1980 he consolidated his business interests by forming Grupo Galas as the parent company of a conglomerate that had interests in industry, construction, mining , retail , food, and tobacco . [7] In 1982 the Mexican economy , which had substantially relied on oil exports, contracted rapidly as the price of oil fell and interest rates rose worldwide. Banks and other businesses were nationalized, crippled or collapsed and the peso was devalued.[ citation needed ] At this time, and during the period of recovery to 1985, Slim invested heavily. He bought outright, or a large percentage of, numerous Mexican businesses, including Reynolds Aluminio, General Popo ( General Tire 's trading name in Mexico), Bimex hotels and Sanborns , a food retailer. He also acquired a 40% interest in the Mexican arms of British American Tobacco and 50% of that of The Hershey Company .

He moved into financial services as well, buying Seguros de México and creating from it, along with other purchases such as Fianzas La Guardiana and Casa de Bolsa Inbursa, the Grupo Financiero Inbursa . Many of these acquisitions were financed by the cash flows from Cigatam, a tobacco business which he bought early in the economic downturn. [7] He added the Nacrobre group of companies – which trade in copper and aluminium products – in 1988 , along with a chemicals business, Química Fluor, and others. [7] In 1990 the Grupo Carso was floated as a public company, with share placements initially in Mexico and then worldwide. [7] Later in 1990 he acted in concert with France Télécom and Southwestern Bell Corporation in order to buy landline telephony company Telmex from the Mexican government. [7] By 2006, 90 percent of the telephone lines in Mexico are operated by Telmex, whilst his mobile telephony company, Telcel , operates almost eighty percent of all the country's cellphones.

[10] Telcel was created out of the Radiomóvil Dipsa company. [7] In 1991 he acquired Hoteles Calinda (today, OSTAR Grupo Hotelero) and in 1993 increased his stakes in General Tire and Grupo Aluminio to the point where he had a majority interest . [7] In 1996 Grupo Carso was split into three companies – Carso Global Telecom, Grupo Carso, and Invercorporación – and the following year Slim bought the Mexican arm of Sears Roebuck . [7] 1999 saw Slim expanding his business interests beyond Latin America. He set up Telmex USA and also acquired a stake in Tracfone , a US cellular telephone company. At the same time he established Carso Infraestructura y Construcción, S. A. (CICSA) as a part of the Grupo Carso, this being a construction and engineering company. [7] It was also at this time that he had heart surgery and subsequently passed on much of the day-to-day involvement in the businesses to his children and their spouses.

[10] América Telecom, the holding company for América Móvil was incorporated in 2000. It took stakes in various cellular telephone companies outside Mexico, including the Brazilian ATL and Telecom Americas concerns, Techtel in Argentina, and others in Guatemala and Ecuador. In subsequent years there was further investment in this sphere, including deals involving companies in Colombia, Nicaragua, Peru, Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador. 2000 also saw a venture with Microsoft which led to the start of the Spanish T1msn portal, later renamed ProdigyMSN. [7] He formed Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina SAB de CV (IDEAL – roughly translated as "Promoter of Development and Employment in Latin America"), a Mexico-based company primarily engaged in not-for-profit infrastructure development. This was in 2005, when he also invested in the Volaris airline.

[7] Having amassed a 50.1% stake in Cigatam, the tobacco company, Slim reduced his holdings by selling a large part of that to Philip Morris in 2007 for $1.1bn, while in the same year also selling his entire interest in a tile company, Porcelanite, for $800m. He also licensed the Saks name and opened Saks Fifth Avenue in Santa Fe , Mexico. The following year saw him take a 6.4% stake in The New York Times Company , [7] which increased to 8% by 2012. [11] On December 8, 2007, Grupo Carso announced that the remaining 103 CompUSA stores would be either liquidated or sold, bringing an end to the struggling company as it was then known; [12] although the IT Tech part of CompUSA continues under the name Telvista with U.S. locations in Dallas, Texas (U.S. Corporate Office) and Danville, Virginia. Telvista has five centers in Mexico (three in Tijuana, one center in Mexicali, and one in México City).

[13] After 28 years Slim became the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the business. He is also Chairman of Teléfonos de Mexico , América Móvil , and Grupo Financiero Inbursa . He is building Plaza Carso in Mexico City where most of his ventures will now share a common headquarters address. [14] [ edit ] Personal fortune On March 29, 2007, Slim surpassed Warren Buffett as the world's second richest person with an estimated net worth of $53.1 billion compared to Buffet's $52.4 billion. [15] On August 4, 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 ". [16] According to The Wall Street Journal, Slim credits part of his ability to "discover investment opportunities" early to the writings of his friend, futurist author Alvin Toffler . [16] On August 8, 2007, Fortune reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man.

Slim's estimated fortune soared to $59 billion, based on the value of his public holdings at the end of July. Gates' net worth was estimated to be at least $58 billion. [16] [17] On March 5, 2008, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's second-richest person, behind Warren Buffett and ahead of Bill Gates. [18] On March 11, 2009, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's third-richest person, behind Gates and Buffett and ahead of Larry Ellison . [18] On March 10, 2010, Forbes once again reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man, with a net worth of $53.5 billion. At the time, Gates and Buffett had a net worth of $53 billion and $47 billion respectively. [18] He was the first Mexican to top the list. [19] It was the first time in 16 years that the person on top of the list was not from the United States.

[20] It was also the first time the person at the top of the list was from an "emerging economy." [21] In March 2011, Forbes stated that Slim had maintained his position as the wealthiest person in the world, with his fortune estimated at $74 billion. [3] In December 2012, According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Carlos Slim Helú remains the world's richest man with an estimated net worth of $75.5 billion. [22] On March 5, 2013, Forbes stated that Slim is still maintaining his first place position as the wealthiest person on the globe, with an estimated net worth of US$73 billion. [23] [ edit ] Philanthropy The Museo Soumaya, a free-admission museum sponsored by Slim In 1995 he established Fundación Telmex, a broad-ranging philanthropic foundation. This followed the creation of his eponymous non-profit philanthropic foundation, Fundación Carlos Slim Helú in 1986.

In 2007 Slim announced that the latter body had been provided with an asset base of $4 billion and that it would be establishing Carso Institutes for Health, Sports and Education. Furthermore, it was to work in support of an initiative of Bill Clinton to aid the people of Latin America. [7] Because Mexican foundations are not required to publish their financial information, it is not possible to confirm Slim’s claims of charitable giving through a public source. Among the activities of Fundación Telmex has been the organisation of Copa Telmex, an amateur sports tournament which in 2007 was recognised by Guinness World Records as having the most participants of any such tournament in the world, a record which it extended in 2008. Together with Fundación Carlos Slim Helú, this organisation announced in the same year that it was to invest more than $250 million in Mexican sports programmes, from grass-roots level to Olympic standard. [7] The Fundación Carlos Slim Helú sponsors the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City which contains the world's second-largest (and largest private) collection of Rodin sculptures, including The Kiss .

Named after Slim's late wife, Soumaya Domit, the Museo Soumaya holds 66,000 pieces, including religious relics, works by Leonardo Da Vinci , Pablo Picasso , Pierre-Auguste Renoir , and coins from the viceroys of Spain. In particular, the museum holds the largest Dalí collection in Latin America. [24] It was inaugurated in 2011 by the President of Mexico, Nobel Prize laureates and other celebrities. [25] In 2000, Slim, along with ex-broadcaster Jacobo Zabludowsky organized the Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México A.C. (Mexico City Historic Downtown Foundation), with the objective to revitalizing and rescuing Mexico City's historic downtown area to enable more people to live, work and find entertainment there. [7] He has been Chairman of the Council for the Restoration of the Historic Downtown of Mexico City since 2001. [26] 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 .

[27] The complex, whose construction was funded by Slim, includes an evangelization center, museum , columbarium , health center, market and parking lot. [28] In May 2011, Slim was mentioned in Forbes ' World's Biggest Givers after donating $4 billion to his foundation. [29] [ edit ] Achievements Slim has been vice-president of the Mexican Stock Exchange and president of the Mexican Association of Brokerage Houses.[ when? ] He was the first president of the Latin-American Committee of the New York Stock Exchange Administration Council, and was in office from 1996 through 1998. Slim was on the Board of Directors of the Altria Group (previously known as Philip Morris) until his resignation in April 2006. Slim was also on the Board of Directors of Alcatel . Slim currently sits on the Board of Directors for Philip Morris International . He was on the Board of Directors of SBC Communications until July 2004, when he quit to devote more time to the World Education & Development Fund, which is focused on infrastructure, health and education projects.

In 1997, just before the company introduced its iMac line, Slim bought 3% of Apple Inc. 's stock. In 2008 it was reported that Slim had shown an interest in buying the Honda Formula One team. [30] Telmex sponsored the Sauber F1 team for the 2011 season. [31] [32] [33] [ edit ] Criticism The Mexican magnate's growing fortune has caused controversy because it has been amassed in a developing country where average per capita income does not surpass $14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. [34] 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. [35] 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 .

[36] According to Professor Celso Garrido, an economist at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Slim's domination of Mexico's conglomerates prevents the growth of smaller companies, resulting in a shortage of paying jobs and forcing many Mexicans to seek better lives in the United States of America. [37] The Mexican Senate, which has received contributions from Carlos Slim, has made it easier for firms to hire and fire workers, and shorten labor disputes. Slim has stated, "When you live for others' opinions, you are dead. I don't want to live thinking about how I'll be remembered," by Mexican people claiming indifference about his position on Forbes list of the world's richest people and has said he has no interest in becoming the world's richest person. When asked to explain his sudden increase in wealth at a press conference soon after Forbes annual rankings were published, he reportedly said, "The stock market goes up ... and down", and noted that his fortune could quickly drop. [35]

Question: What nationality is Carlos Slim, the richest person in the world according to Forbes 2012?
Answer: Mexican