Carlos Slim is the New Richest Man in the World
The Microsoft mogul Bill Gates is ousted from his comfy position on the number 1 spot as the richest man in the world. Bill Gates is replaced by the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim as the world’s richest person in the world.
Carlos Slim is a Mexican engineer and businessman largely focused on the telecommunications industry. Carlos Slim has a net worth of around US$53.5 billion through his holdings. He 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.
Slim has a substantial influence over the telecommunications industry in Mexico and much of Latin America. He controls Teléfonos de México (Telmex), Telcel and América Móvil companies. Though he maintains an active involvement in his companies, his three sons — Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patrick Slim Domit — head them on a day-to-day basis.
Mr. Slim is the first person other than Mr. Gates or Mr. Buffett to top the list since 1994. That year was the last time a billionaire from outside the United States led the ranking — the Japanese real estate tycoon Yoshiaki Tsutsumi.
It is only the second time since 1995 that Gates has lost the crown, the magazine said, and estimating Slim’s net worth at $53.5 billion, compared to Gates’s $53 billion fortune, while investor Warren Buffett came in at No. 3 with $47 billion.
Completing the top 10 richest person in the world are Mukesh Ambani of India at No. 4, Lakshmi Mittal (India) at No. 5, Lawrence Ellison (United States) at No. 6, Bernard Arnault (France) at No. 7, Eike Batista (Brazil) at No. 8, Amancio Ortega (Spain) at No. 9 and Karl Albrecht (Germany) at number 10 spot.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is still the world’s youngest with a $4 billion fortune at the age of 25.
Carlos Slim is definitely old school. He’s of the tried and true “guerrilla billionaire” strategy: buy lots of businesses and either keep them for the cash flow or fix ‘em up and sell them. The goal is to make money off a lot of deals instead of a killing on just one.