Carlos Slim (1940-) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who became one of the wealthiest people in the world.
He amassed this fortune from his extensive holdings in a number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso, in the fields of communications, insurance, construction, energy, mining, retailing, publishing, and finance. As of June 2022, Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranked him as the 12th-richest person in the world and the richest person in Latin America with a net worth of $78 billion.
For many years, Slim’s key holding was the former national telephone monopoly, Teléfonos de México (Telmex), among numerous other Mexican companies. He has also been the largest shareholder in the New York Times Company, the financial conglomerate Citigroup, the luxury retailer Saks, and the consumer electronics retailer Circuit City.
Slim is a noted art collector and philanthropist. He founded a not-for-profit art museum, preserved culturally significant buildings in Mexico City, and launched a microcredit programme in Mexico.
However, Slim's vast wealth has been a subject of controversy as it was amassed in a country where the average per capita income does not surpass US$14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. Slim accounts for 40% of the listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange, while his net worth is equivalent to about 6% of Mexico's gross domestic product.
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