Carlos Slim Helu is presently the richest man in the world.
His worth has been quantified at US$ 53.5 billion which takes him above Bill Gates at US$ 53 Billion.
So is he an American?
No. Carlos Slim is not an American.
So does he belong to one of the developed countries like UK, Germany, France, Japan?
No, none of these.
The country he belongs to has a per capita income of $14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. To put his achievement in the right perspective it will not be out of place to add that his wealth is the equivalent of roughly 2% of his country's annual economic output.
Yes we are talking Mexico.
But more important than that is the fact that he is an immigrant. How's that for enterprise?
Great is it not?
So from where does he actually come?
LEBANON - Surprise, Surprise.
In 1902, Julián Slim Haddad, father of Carlos Slim Helú, arrived in Mexico from Lebanon, all alone at 14 years of age, speaking no Spanish. Carlos Slim's mother, Doña Linda Helú was also Lebanese. These immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century, brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. Carlos was the youngest boy of six children.
Carlos Slim studied engineering but his entrepreneul skills were evident as by the time he was 26 years old, his net worth was $40 million.
He married Soumaya Domit Gemayel, also a Lebanese-Mexican, in 1967; they had six children and were married for 32 years until Domit died of a kidney ailment in 1999.
The youngest daughter, Johanna, is married to Arturo Elías Ayub, a Syrian Lebanese and a board member of some of Slim's companies.
If you have been a student of history you will understand the link with Lebanon and the aggressive and smart trading. Yes, Lebanon was the starting point for the Phoenicians who were the first to explore the Mediterranean Sea route for trade. They were so good that even the Romans envied them.
Jumping Genes???
Reminds me of Carl Lewis! it's a very long jump.
Best regards,
Manoj
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3 comments:
Slim built his $53.5 billion empire by buying and turning around a creaking state monopoly and myriad other companies.
According to Forbes, Slim's fortune swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in past 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which he owns a 23-billion-dollar stake, went up by as much as 35% during the year.
Born to a Lebanese immigrant father, Slim learned his business acumen at an early age. The knack for making money rubbed off on his offspring, Slim bought his first stock at age 12, investing in a Mexican bank that would one day be acquired by Citigroup.
Slim made a fortune through his 1990 acquisition of state telecom monopoly Telmex. He has always denied he landed the deal due to his friendship with then-President Carlos Salinas, insisting he does not have partners in politics.
In recent years, Mexico's government has refused to grant Telmex a license to sell video services, thwarting Slim's hopes of getting into competition with TV companies. Slim believes TV companies are becoming increasingly powerful in Mexican society.
Slim is known for his frugal lifestyle but is a cigar enthusiast and avid art collector. He is believed to own one of the largest private collections of sculptures by Auguste Rodin outside France and his daughter runs an art museum in Mexico.
A widower with six children, Slim has handed over the daily operations of his companies to his sons and business partners. A baseball fanatic, Slim is also well-known for his philanthropy.
The soft-spoken billionaire last month received authorisation to merge three of his telecommunication companies to form a regional giant, with 250 million customers in 18 countries.
He has an engineering degree from Mexico's National Autonomous University, where he also taught Algebra.
He remains a diehard supporter of his college soccer team, Pumas. Slim is also a big baseball fan because of his passion for statistics.
Hi Sanjoy,
The most interesting facet of his story is the fact that he has maintained connections with his Lebanese roots.
Most of us try to cut off all traces of our past. An immigrant from a war torn small country which has a serious identity crisis, he has maintained links with Lebanon and is a regular visitor there.
I like people who stick to their roots and keep strengthening their links.
Best regards,
Manoj
Manoj
Yes indeed Manoj. Eversince our childhood, if anything that comes to mind as strife-torn, it is Lebanon. You do come to be what you are because of all your past, roots especially, whether or not you go back to it or not.
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