Carlos Slim
Mexican oligarch and telecom magnate, once world's richest person.
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The Bloomberg Billionaires Index later ranked him as the 18th-richest person globally, with a net worth of US$99.1 billion, making him the richest person in Latin America.[1]
Key facts and history
After graduating in 1961, he launched his business career as a stock trader in Mexico.[2] In 1990, Grupo Carso and partners acquired Telmex, the national telephone monopoly, from the government for $1.76 billion.[3] The core of his fortune derives from telecommunications, where he owns América Móvil, Telcel, and Telmex.[4] Slim's father, Julián Slim Haddad, emigrated from Jezzine (then part of the Ottoman Empire) to Mexico alone in 1902 at age 14.[5][6]
During the 1982 economic crisis in the country, with finances almost paralyzed, Slim continued to invest in companies such as Reynolds Aluminio, Sanborns, and General Tire.[7]
What the cited sources add
The "History of Grupo Carso" account states that Slim built his fortune without connections to Mexico's closely knit business elite.[3] According to that same source, Slim acquired a majority stake in Cigatam in 1981 and used its revenues to buy controlling interests in many Mexican companies after the 1982 peso meltdown.[3] The biography on Slim's website notes that Grupo Galas (later Grupo Carso) was formed in 1980 with activities in industry, construction, mining, retail, food and tobacco.[7] The "History of Grupo Carso" reports that Grupo Carso and two foreign partners acquired about 20 percent of Telmex's equity and 51 percent of voting shares in December 1990.[3]
The same source states that under Slim's management, Telmex surpassed the government's target for line expansion and reduced the average wait for a telephone hookup more than sixfold.[3] The biography on Slim's website records that Fundación Carlos Slim Helú was created as a non-profit philanthropic organization.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Carlos Slim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carlos Slim 30 pronunciations of Carlos Slim in Spanish"; Quijones, "Carlos Slim, World's 2nd Richest Man, Mexico's Biggest Oligarch, Master of Slimlandia, Suddenly Loses Billions.", Wolfstreet, 12 August 2015; "Where Does Carlos Slim Keep His Money?", Adam Hayes; "Carlos Slim's growing involvement in the oil and gas industry", oilandgasmexico.com; "Carlos Slim Helu & family", Forbes; "THE MOBILE MEXICAN MAGNATE: HOW CARLOS SLIM HELU GOT HIS START", EvanCarMichael; Jan-Albert Hootsen, "Can You Buy Anything in Mexico Without Paying Carlos S en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carlos Slim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "THE MOBILE MEXICAN MAGNATE: HOW CARLOS SLIM HELU GOT HIS START", EvanCarMichael; "Carlos Slim", Academy of Achievement; Jonathan Kandell, "Yo Quiero Todo Bell" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "History of Grupo Carso". facts only, no text reused. fundinguniverse.com
- Wikipedia, "Carlos Slim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Where Does Carlos Slim Keep His Money?", Adam Hayes; "Carlos Slim's growing involvement in the oil and gas industry", oilandgasmexico.com; "UNCLE SLIM: THE WORLD'S RICHEST MAN"; Kalyan Parbat, "Why Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim Made a Secret Visit to India", India West, 29 May 2015; "UNCLE SLIM: THE WORLD'S RICHEST MAN" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carlos Slim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Family tree of Julián Slim Haddad", Geneanet (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Carlos Slim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bone, "Mexican mogul Carlos Slim got his big break in sell-off of national telephone firm", The Times, 11 March 2010; "Biography", Carlos Slim Helú (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Biography", Carlos Slim Helú. facts only, no text reused. carlosslim.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Carlos Slim (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Carlos Slim (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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