Carlos Slim, the richest man in the World

Carlos Slim is a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist who has at various times been noted as the world's wealthiest person. He is the chairman and CEO of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso SAB, as well as business interests elsewhere in the world.

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. He went on to study engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, while simultaneously teaching algebra and linear programming there. In 1965 he incorporated Inversora Bursátil and then bought Jarritos del Sur. In 1966, already worth US$40 million, he founded Inmobiliaria Carso.

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.

Between 1980 and 1990 Slim invest heavily, he bought a large percentage of numerous Mexican businesses. Later he invest in foreign countries to expand his empire.

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". 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.

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.