Carlos Slim Helu

A Passion that Made Him One of the Richest on the Planet

Carlos Slim Helu is counted among the richest people in the world. This Mexican businessman has got enormous stakes in numerous Mexican corporations through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso, SA de CV, gathered interests in the financial, insurance, construction, energy, mining, retail, and publishing industries.

Slim was rated as the world’s richest person by Forbes from 2010 and 2013. Elon Musk has risen to the top position as of 2022, while Carlos Slim continues to rank thirteen. Let’s know about his journey.

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“The biggest things in life are not materials.” – Carlos Slim

Quick Facts:

Name: Carlos Slim Helu
Nationality: Mexican
Net Worth: $ 78 billion as of June 2022
Education: Civil Engineering from National Autonomous University of Mexico
Occupation: Businessman, Investor, Philanthropist
Date of Birth: January 28, 1940
Age:82
Place of Birth: Mexico City
Marital Status: Married
Spouse’s Name: SoumayaDomit (passed away in1999)
Children: 6
Spoken Languages: English, Spanish
Hobbies: Travelling, Sports & Fine Arts

Early Life:

Julián Slim Haddad (real name Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz), a Maronite Christian from Lebanon, and Linda Hel Atta welcomed Slim into the world on January 28, 1940, in Mexico City. His father, who was a businessman and a real estate investor, taught him finance, management, and accounting, as well as how to evaluate, understand, and comprehend financial accounts. He also stressed the value of maintaining correct financial records.

Slim bought a government savings bond when he was 11 years old, which introduced him to the idea of compound interest. He ultimately compiled a personal ledger book, which he still has, of every purchase and business transaction he did. He bought shares of a Mexican bank when he was 12 years old, which was his first stock. By the age of 15, Slim had acquired stock in Mexico’s largest bank.

He started working for his father’s business at the age of 17, earning 200 pesos a week. He was pursuing his studies in civil engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico while lecturing in algebra and linear programming simultaneously.

Slim graduated in civil engineering but showed a keen interest in economics. Having finished his engineering degree, he went to Chile to study economics. Slim, who received his degree in civil engineering, has acknowledged that his aptitude for mathematics and experience with linear programming gave him a competitive edge. This was especially true when it came to evaluating prospective companies’ financial statements to make business decisions and consider potential investment acquisitions.

Career:

Carlos began his professional career by founding his own brokerage after receiving years of business training from his father. He would fund small, one-man businesses, and by 1965, his company had expanded to the point where he could incorporate other enterprises or even acquire them outright. Although he did invest in a wide range of enterprises, his primary areas of interest were mining, construction, and real estate. By 1966, his net worth was estimated to be approximately $40 million.

He kept putting money into investments, and by 1980 he had combined his shares into a holding company known as “Grupo Galas.” Oil prices fell dramatically in 1982, which had a significant negative impact on Mexico’s economy. As a result, he increased his stake in the company and began investing in foreign businesses; soon, he owned 50% of “The Hershey Company.”

He persisted in expanding his control over telephone communication firms in 1990 with the expectation of eventually owning the Mexican government’s Telmex phone corporation. After acquiring the business, he quickly created a US equivalent of “Telmex” and even invested in “Tracfone,” a US mobile carrier.

After having heart surgery, he started delegating part of his everyday tasks to his kids and stepped back from the business world.

The New York Times Company, Saks Fifth Avenue, Telekom Austria, and Volaris are just a few of the largest corporations Carlos continued to invest in during the 2000s. Carlos rose to the position of being The New York Times Company’s largest individual shareholder by January 2015. With a net worth of $56 billion as of 2020, Carlos Slim Helu was one of the richest people in history.

Personal Life:

SoumayaDomit and Carlos Slim have been married since 1967. In 1999, his wife passed away. She was looking after various humanitarian projects. Carlos, Marco Antonio, Patrick, Soumaya, Vanessa, and Johanna are Slim’s six children. His three oldest sons hold prominent positions in the businesses that Slim controls, with the majority of them taking part in the daily management of Slim’s commercial empire. In 1999, Slim underwent heart surgery. Slim loved math, cosmology, and history in high school. Slim stated that he does not plan to remarry.

Surprisingly, Slim saves all of his financial information in handwritten notes rather than using a computer in his workplace. He often makes the joke that he can’t keep track of all the businesses he oversees because of the size of his large economic empire. Slim is a well-known supporter of Legion of Christ, a Roman Catholic religious organisation, and he is a Maronite Catholic.

Philanthropy:

With regard to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s pledge to donate at least half of their wealth, Slim has expressed public scepticism about it. However, his spokesman claims that as of 2011, he had given his Carlos Slim foundation US$4 billion, or around 5%, of his total wealth. Slim has reaffirmed his strong support for philanthropy and advised aspiring businesspeople that men in business must do more than simply give; they “should participate in solving problems”.

Slim established three non-profit organisations with a focus on Mexico City: one for sports, one for the arts, education, and health care, and one for downtown revitalization. Slim was listed by Forbes as one of the most generous donors in the world outside of the US in 2019.