Carlos Slim is an award-winning Mexican investor, entrepreneur, engineer, and philanthropist. Slim achieved his considerable fortune through various business ventures embarked on by Grupo Carso, his conglomerate. He is also the chairman of Telmex, América Móvil (AMX), and the Carlos Slim Foundation. Grupo Carso has investments across multiple sectors, including real estate, mining, education, industrial manufacturing, entertainment, energy, hospitality, high technology, financial services, retail, and healthcare.

Location

Carlos Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and is of Lebanese descent. Slim completed his studies in 1961 at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he received a CCEE in civil engineering. He began his professional career working in Mexico as a stock trader, which led to him owning a stockbroking firm called Inversora Bursátil. Slim has made investments in businesses across several countries, including South American companies in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and particularly in the United States. 

Remarkable Investments

Carlos Slim made most of his money through his global conglomerate, Grupo Carso, of which he and his family own 79%. The conglomerate’s share price has risen 116% over the past five years.

Slim led Grupo Carso in acquiring the major shareholder position of América Móvil (formerly Telmex) in 1990. This investment proved to be a defining point in his career. 

When the New York Times was in danger of failing, Carlos Slim bailed the company out with a US$250 million investment, adding to his existing 6.9% stake. With this significant investment, Slim made a substantial profit in later years. The profit came after share prices in the Times more than doubled following the Trump election in 2016, after which Slim sold his stake.

Although it wasn’t an area that Slim focused on in his early years, real estate eventually became a major part of his investment portfolio. Some of his property investments include 20 shopping centers, 10 of which are located in Mexico City, a Fifth Avenue New York mansion purchased for US$44 million, two commercial buildings in the US, including the PepsiCo Inc. headquarters, and several buildings in Mexico, including commercial office buildings that cost around US$1.4 billion to complete. In his role as Chairman and CEO of Telmex and América Móvil, Slim holds a market capitalization of over US$80 billion. He also has a controlling interest in Banco Inbursa. 

Slim built the Museo Soumaya to honor his late wife and her affinity for collecting art. It is home to over 60,000 works of art, including the largest collection of Rodin art outside of France, as well as a host of masterpieces by Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and Dali, just to name a few. The artwork is said to be worth $1B USD. 

Latest News

In May 2018, Forbes reported that the Mexican government invited Carlos Slim and other Mexican billionaires to finance an airport. Forbes also published news that Slim would be getting a new neighbor as his current neighbor, Sammy Sosa’s former oceanfront estate, was listed for sale at US$15.95 million. As reported by Broadband TV News, the business magnate became interested in taking over Volia, the top cable operator in Ukraine. Valued at US$112 million, Volia has attracted interest from several other investors before negotiations were started with Slim’s Grupo Carso. Bloomberg related that Slim is cashing in on his investment in The New York Times, as the company’s stock surged, despite President Trump claiming that it is failing. 

As of June 2024, Slim acquired a 3% stake for $511M in BT, Britain’s largest telecommunications service. 

For decades, Slim held an annual press conference, which he had not hosted in the past 5 years, and provided no reasoning. Although on February 12, 2024, Slim hosted a four-hour conference proving that “he’s still got it”.

In 2025, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, América Móvil shares rose 3.7% and Grupo Carso rose 4.8%, as predicted by Slim himself.