Carlos Slim is an award-winning Mexican investor, entrepreneur, engineer, and philanthropist. Between 2010 and 2013, the business magnate was ranked by Forbes as the wealthiest person in the world. Slim achieved his considerable fortune through various business ventures embarked on by Grupo Carso, his conglomerate. He is also the chairman of Telmex, America MOvil (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, but is of Lebanese descent. His parents immigrated to Mexico where they founded one of the first magazines in Arabic using a printing press they brought with them. Slim completed his primary and secondary education in Mexico City before enrolling at the National Autonomous University of Mexico where he studied Civil Engineering. He graduated in 1961 and started working in Mexico as a stock trader, which led to him owning a stockbroking firm called Inversora Bursátil. Slim has made investments into businesses across several countries, including South American companies in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, and particularly in the United States. 

Remarkable Investments

After a financial crisis when the New York Times was in danger of failing, Carlos Slim bailed the company out with an investment of US$250 million, adding to his existing 6.9% stake. With this significant investment in the New York Times, 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 are 20 shopping centers, of which 10 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 America Movil, Slim holds a market capitalization of over US$80 billion. He also has a controlling interest in Banco Inbursa. 

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 New York Times, as the company’s stocks surged, despite President Trump claiming that it is failing.