Slim Helú, Carlos (1940–)

A Mexican entrepreneur of Lebanese descent, Carlos Slim became one of the richest individuals in the world at the turn of the twenty-first century. His family came to Mexico during the first decade of the twentieth century from Lebanon. Son of Julián Slim Haddad, who died when Carlos was only thirteen years old, and Linda Helú, Carlos was the fifth among six siblings. He was born in Mexico City on January 28, 1940. In 1965 he married Soumaya Domit Gemayel (d. 1999), also of Lebanese descent; the couple had six children.

At age nineteen Carlos Slim began engineering studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de Mexico, earning his degree in 1962. In 1966 he launched his entrepreneurial activities by incorporating Immobiliaria Carso, with operations in real estate and construction. He worked at the Mexican stock market and in 1965 founded Inversora Bursátil, where he worked with his cousin Alfredo Harp Helú, now a well-recognized banker in Mexico.

In the 1980s Slim bought a number of large enterprises, taking advantage of the fact that many investors wanted to take their money out of Mexico. In 1990 Slim, together with a group of investors, acquired the formerly public company Teléfonos de México (Telmex). Control of Telmex brought Slim wide public attention and, together with his investment in the wireless carrier América Móvil and other telecom businesses, vastly increased his wealth by the early years of the twenty-first century.

According to Forbes, by 2007 Slim's businesses included Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo de América Latina (IDEAL), a share in Volaris (a Mexican budget airline), and a fortified position in Saks Inc. In 2007 the same magazine considered him the second-richest person in the world, behind only Bill Gates.

See alsoMexico: Since 1910 .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Billionaries List. Available from http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/10/07billionaires_Carlos-Slim-Helu_WYDJ.html.

Martínez, José Martínez. Carlos Slim: Retrato inédito. Mexico: Océano, 2002.

                                 Sergio Silva-CastaÑeda