Carlos Slim Helu: Mexican Business Magnate and Philanthropist
Carlos Slim Helu is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who has become one of the world’s wealthiest people and a legendary figure in Latin America. His investments span telecoms, media, finance, retail, industry, and real estate, and he is the fifth-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$53.5 billion. Carlos Slim has made it his mission to foster economic growth and stability for growth in Latin America, and to that end, he has established several foundations to support his philanthropic and educational goals. Here is a look at Carlos Slim Helu’s life, business career, and philanthropy.
Early Life
Carlos Slim was born in Mexico City in 1940 to Lebanese immigrants. His father, Julian Slim Haddad, had fled economic instability in his native country only to find poverty in Mexico. His father’s resilience and prolific business success inspired Carlos in his later life, and steered him toward entrepreneurship. As a young man, Carlos was an excellent student, supposedly mastering calculus by the age of 12.
Business Career
Carlos Slim put his skills to work quickly. At age 17, he began as a stock market trader. By twenty, he had founded his own brokerage. Initially, he worked mainly within Mexico’s stock market, but eventually, he began investing in larger companies in Argentina and the United States, too. In subsequent decades, Carlos Slim built the largest portfolio of publicly traded companies in Mexico, comprising 7.5%, or 161, of the total. His holdings grew to include many facets of the economy, including banking, airlines, steel production, and communication.
Amongst his most prominent holdings are America Movil, a telecom company that serves over 270 million customers in Latin America, as well as Grupo Carso, a large conglomerate that has holdings in retail and real estate. Carlos Slim is a keen investor and remains closely involved in day-to-day management of his companies— even though he is nearing 80 years old.
Philanthropy
Whilst Carlos Slim has gained immense wealth, he has devoted himself to using this wealth to cultivate economic progress and stability in Latin America. Since his retirement from active management of his investments, he has turned to philanthropy. His initiatives span training and access to technology, education, health, aid, and disaster relief. He has also contributed significantly to cultural arts, including co-founding the Museum of Latin American Art in Los Angeles. Accordingly, he has been awarded various international honors.
Most notably, he established the Carlos Slim Foundation, originally called the Carlos Slim Health Institute. With its main focus on providing health care for those in need, the foundation has since grown to provide assistance with education, scholarship, mentoring, infrastructure and urban development, housing, water, culture, and nutrition. It operates in seven countries, including Mexico, the United States, Guatemala, Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Dominican Republic.
In 2011, Carlos Slim had joined the Giving Pledge campaign initiated by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to encourage billionaires to donate a majority of their wealth to charitable causes. Carlos Slim has pledged to donate at least $4 billion over the course of his lifetime.
The success of Carlos Slim Helu is truly inspiring. After weathering economic hardship in his early life, he was able to leverage a genius-level aptitude for business to become one of the world’s wealthiest people. In recent years, he has turned to philanthropy, dedicating himself not only to solving the world’s most pressing issues but to driving vibrant economic and social progress throughout Latin America. Carlos Slim has become an invaluable leader and champion of progress throughout both his business and philanthropic work and his story is inspiring to many.
