Great People: Carlos Slim Helú
With a total net worth of 67.8 billion US Dollars, Carlos Slim was nominated the richest man on the world in 2010. Still, Carlos Slim was until then not a typical and famous billionaire.
Carlos Slim’s father, Yusef Salim, originated from Yezzine, located around 70 kilometers south of Beirut, Lebanon. In 1902, Yusef fled to Mexico as an adolescent, and settled in Mexico City. In 1911, Yusef Slim opened a shop named La Estrella del Oriente, with which he gathered a small fortune. With this fortune, Yusef started investing in real estate in Mexico City, which at that time was relatively cheap.
Carlos Slim was the fifth of six children. Already at the age of 8 years old, Carlos Slim helped his father in the shop, and learned about management and finance. In 1952, Carlos’ father died, and Carlos inherited a large sum of his capital, which he then used to start his business career.
Carlos Slim Helú studied at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, where he graduated as an engineer in 1961. Already during his eduction, and prior to graduation, Carlos was teaching a variety of subject, and organized seminars.
Since the 1980′s, Carlos started building his business under the name of Grupo Carso. His business acquired tobacco companies, pharmacies, and restaurant businesses. When the Mexican telephone company was privatized, a consortium led by Carlos Slim obtained a rebate, resulting in a total price of 1.8 billion US Dollars for the telecommunication company; the total worth of the company at that time was estimated at around 10 – 12 billion US Dollars.
In the last years, Carlos Slim has been investing heavily in the US. He has acquired parts of Philip Morris, and has a smaller share in Apple.
In addition to Carlos Slim’s business activities, Slim is giving back a great deal. Carlos has several social programs in place, such a laptop program for the poorest of the poor; also has Carlos Slim built a museum, and has he significantly contributed to the restoration of the historical city in Mexico City.
Surely, one basis of Carlos Slim’s wealth might have been the entrepreneurial mind of his father, who fled Lebanon and started a new life in Mexico City. However, the fact that Carlos Slim had been able to work in his father’s shop, has brought him a wealth of knowledge about management, finance, and how to run a business in general.
Additionally, Carlos Slim is taking the most out of his life. Besides running a business, he is tenacious in creating added value to the people around him. He is politically active, he was already providing seminars before he graduated. I am certain, that Carlos Slim could have grown to be one of the world’s most successful businessmen also without any financial aid.
Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim_Helú
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