Ask Me Help Desk - Carlos Slim-world's richest man

I was reading Fortune last night, and I found out that Carlos Slim is now the richest man in the world.

This 67-year-old mexican man has amassed a $59 billion fortune, based on the value of his public holdings at the end of July. This number puts him just ahead of perennial No. 1, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose net worth is estimated to be at least $58 billion. But Gates is selling off his single greatest source of wealth, Microsoft stock, to fund his foundation, while Slim's fortune is growing at a stunning clip. 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. Some people say that "He made his billions because of an extremely close and advantageous relationship with the Salinas government."

What do you think?

P.S. I bet Gates is losing some sleep on that.:D

Hello springchick:

Mexico is corrupt. I'm certain that his relationship with government was QUITE advantageous.

Bill Gates, however, isn't worried about his standing. Actually, he's given up his full time position at the company to concentrate on his foundation. He believes his job now is to give away ALL his foundations billions. Of course, you do know that he has to give away ALL of Warren Buffet's money too. He was the SECOND richest man in the world for the longest time.

Good for Gates.

excon

Quote:

Originally Posted by excon

Hello springchick:

Mexico is corrupt. I'm certain that his relationship with government was QUITE advantageous.

Bill Gates, however, isn't worried about his standing. Actually, he's given up his full time position at the company to concentrate on his foundation. He believes his job now is to give away ALL his foundations billions. Of course, you do know that he has to give away ALL of Warren Buffet's money too. He was the SECOND richest man in the world for the longest time.

Good for Gates.

excon

Hello Excon:

I know Bill Gates is the man! :)

Deep in my heart, he is still the richest man in the world.:o

P.S. I know I am young, but "chick"... :rolleyes: is not QUITE suit for me. Could you think about any other name for me?;)

How old do you think I am? By looking at my pic?

Hello again:

Boy, you really want me to get into trouble, don't you? Ok, I'll bite. You look 25. But, when I add up stuff, you're over 30.

Still a youngster in my book.

excon

I would say that Gates made a decision to be philanthropic while Slim Helu has in contrast come under some criticism for his reluctance to redistribute his wealth. That is his choice and he has to live with whatever hit he takes in PR for that decision. I for one would not compel him to be generous.

It's not like he isn't doing anything. He recently announced that he would donate 1 million lap-top computers to children for education by 2008.

I was not aware of any special relationship he had with Salinas .I do know that he was able to purchase TELMEX during the move to privatization. The sale was done through a “public” auction, and although several foreign groups had offered higher amounts, Grupo Carso (Slims group) won the bid, since one of the determining requirements was that the majority ownership had to remain in Mexican hands. He has been able to pretty much monopolize the telecommunications industry there .

I do think that Mexico has benefitted from his innovations. Also; when the economy was going bad he continued to invest in Mexico. He has made most of his fortune inside the country . Most people of his wealth have moved on to international investments.

He has until recently fallen under the radar of public scrutiny and he probably prefers it that way. I suspect that much like the so-called robber barons of the early US industrialization ,his heirs will end up creating family foundations that use the family wealth for the public benefit . I think for pr purposes alone he should consider the examples of Bill Gates and before him Warren Buffet and contribute a sizeable percentage of his fortune to the public.

Hello NSG,

First of all, if you are a day over 22, I would be very surprised. You look younger than that based on your pic. (The other pics I have seen you use as your avatar made you look even younger.)

Onto the topic of this thread...

Carlos Slim Helu is a self-made billionaire. He came from a moderately prosperous background and turned that moderate prosperity into something unbelievable. He invested in the right places at the right times, and used his business sense to wring the maximum profitability out of his companies by upgrading infrastructures, modernizing technologies and keeping waste to a minimum. I liken him more to Warren Buffet, who also made his money in investment and good business practices, as opposed to Bill Gates who was an innovator of technology.

I agree with excon that Slim's relationship with the Mexican government was advantagous. But I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. He had the foresight to make those relationships. He had the wherewithal to buy the government-owned Mexican telephone system when it was privatized in 1990, and upgrade the system over the following 5 years at a cost of $10 billion. The people and government of Mexico got as much in return as Slim ever got out of the relationship between them, even if it was a corrupt relationship.

I happen to like Gates too. He's a true self-made man, and an innovator of the entire computer and telecommunications industries. I respect that. And I like Warren Buffet too, except for some of his recent comments on taxation in the USA. But I have to admitt, the more I read about Carlos Slim Helu, the more I like. What Buffet and Gates did in the riches country in the world, Slima managed to do also, and in one of the most corrupt and poverty-stricken hovels in the world. And he did it (by every account I have read) in a completely honest and fair manner, in which everyone benefitted.

So if he has been named the richest man in the world, more power to him. He's earned it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by excon

Hello again:

Boy, you really want me to get into trouble, don't you? Ok, I'll bite. You look 25. But, when I add up stuff, you're over 30.

Still a youngster in my book.

excon

Excon, you are in trouble now...
:D

I heard that Carlos Slim surpassed Bill Gates. But Bill gives tons to charity and cares about other things more than money. If he was just a greedy jerk(not that Slim is), he would probably be much richer.

nicespringgirl- no... grad school, right? 24-ish. Though I think some women of asian decent, like many men of african decent, can age very well. I know a thai woman who is almost 40 who could very well pass as a college student. Don't give excon a hard time with chick... it can be an endearing term and id give him the benefit of doubt. A little naughty is fun anyway, right?

To address the OP, gates doesn't give one second of a thought about this. Period.