Success Stories: Carlos Slim

Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His father, Julián Slim Haddad (Arabic جوليان سليم حداد), arrived in Mexico in 1902 from Lebanon, alone at 14 years of age and speaking no Spanish. He fled the Ottoman Empire, which at the time conscripted young men into its army, causing mothers to send their sons to exile before turning fifteen. Carlos Slim's mother, Linda Helú (Arabic ليندا حلو), was born in Parral, Chihuahua. She was the daughter of José Helú (Arabic جوزيه حلو) and Wadiha Atta (Arabic وضيحة عطا), Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century. They brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico, and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. In 1911, Julián established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente (The Eastern Star) and purchased real estate in downtown Mexico City. In August 1926, Julián Slim and Linda Helú married in Mexico City. They had six children, of whom Carlos was the youngest male.

Slim studied engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. By the time he was 26 years old, his net worth was $40 million. He married Soumaya Domit Gemayel (Arabic سمية جميل), 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 board member of some of Slim's companies.

Slim was able to raise money for a telecommunications company by purchasing standby letters of credit which enabled him to obtain guaranteed loans which provided the capital.

On August 4, 2007, The Wall Street Journal ran a cover story profiling Slim. The article said, "While the market value of his stake in publicly traded companies could decline at any time, at the moment he is probably wealthier than Bill Gates" On March 29, 2007, Slim surpassed Warren Buffett as the world's second richest person with an estimated net worth of US$53.1 billion compared to Buffett's US$52.4 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, Slim credits part of his ability to discover investment opportunities early to the writings of his friend, futurist author Alvin Toffler.

On August 8, 2007, Fortune reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man. Slim's estimated fortune soared to US$59 billion, based on the value of his public holdings the end of July. Gates' net worth was estimated to be at least US$58 billion.

On March 5, 2008, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's second-richest person, behind Warren Buffett and ahead of Bill Gates. On March 11, 2009, Forbes ranked Slim as the world's third-richest person, behind Gates and Buffett and ahead of Lawrence Ellison.

On March 10, 2010, Forbes once again reported that Slim had overtaken Gates as the world's richest man, with a net worth of US$53.5 billion. Gates and Buffett now have a net worth of US$53 billion and US$47 billion respectively. He was the first Mexican to top the list. It was the first time in 16 years that the person on top of the list was not from the United States. It was also the first time the person at the top of the list was not from Europe, the Middle East or the United States, and the first from an "emerging economy" (via wikipedia).