Fortune Magazine is reporting that Carlos Slim Helu (known as Carlos Slim), the Mexican telecom magnate, has just passed Bill Gats as the world’s richest man. Fortune Magazine’s estimates put Slim’s personal net worth at $59 billion dollars at the close of July. Gates is currently worth $58B. It was only in April that Slim passed Warren Buffet as the world’s 2nd richest man, with $56B.
Slim’s holdings are growing at an astronomical rate! To put things in perspective:
His net worth jumped $12 billion this year alone. His family’s holdings represent more than 5% of Mexico’s 2006 gross domestic product, and Slim-controlled companies make up one-third of the $422 billion Mexican Bolsa, or stock exchange.
Slim amassed the majority of his wealth through shrewd value investing at a time when Mexico’s economy was in big trouble. He used his experience and weath he gained as a stock broker and purchased companies he deemed were undervalued compared to similar foreign owned companies.
He is not without controversy though. Some people claim he runs a monopolyy with his telecommunication’s holdings. He owns Telefonos de Mexico which controls 92% of the country’s phone lines, and his America Mavil wireless service has a 70% market share.
With his holdings growing at such a high rate, I think it will be very interesting to see how high his net worth climbs.
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