Carlos Slim edges out Bill "Fatty Fat Fat" Gates as world's richest person
By Paul Miller 
posted July 3rd 2007 2:17PM
posted July 3rd 2007 2:17PM
It was probably inevitable, with Bill Gates handing out his cash right and left, and Microsoft's stock in pretty much a holding pattern for most of the 2000's, but it's still sad to see our man Bill get knocked off the top spot on the "world's richest" list. His replacement is no stranger to tech though, Carlos Slim built his fortune in the Mexican telecom biz, and has amassed an estimated net worth of $67.8 billion, thanks to a surge in the shares of America Movil. Slim's fortune represents 8% of Mexico's gross domestic product, and whatever he lacks in geek cred he more than makes up on the streets with that entirely gangster name of his.[Thanks, Emiliano M]
crap he has like 1,000 millions for each poor in mexico.
Lolec,
I see that your math skills can land you the job of "Economic Adviser", to the president of Mexico.
Idealists complain and bitch about saving the world or helping others ... without realizing that those 'dreams' are far from realistic. The problem is the system, not how poor people are or the lack of cash. People think giving money to the poor actually helps.
Even if he gave money to everyone ... there's one of two things which would happen ... (A) people would spend it and not invest wisely, which is the equivalent of him just burning his money (though in this case people get to have fun with it for a bit, since people have a voracious appetite for 'spending' not saving, also people's opportunistic natures and perspectives are anti-productive) ... or (B) as the once considered to be poor's net worth increases, it eliminates the bottom bracket, and that once middle bracket becomes the new bottom bracket.
Thus, prices go up ... and the action becomes moot. Since the middle class in essence would become the poor class. They wouldn't just stay middle class, lol. The only way prices wouldn't go up is if one eliminates the upper-class ... however, that's impossible. Those that provide services, etc ... will always be in a different bracket than those that use services.
One can try to change the system, but no single person can do that. If they were in such a position where they could change the system, they never would've made the amount of money they did. Since the key positions which can change the system are never that lucrative. The irony is, those who make money off the system are in positions where they flow "with" the system, thus meaning they are not in a position where they can actually change it. So why not just buy those who are in the position to change? Ummm, because those who are in the position to change aren't idealists.
Only people who are not in the position delude idealist views of what they'd do if they were in the position. For example, customers that can't fathom what it's like to actually run a company ... so they spit idealist views of what they'd do if they were in the position. When the irony is, the more power you have ... the more you realize just how much such actions are moot. Since everything "good" is always equally "bad", and vice-versa ... it's all relative (just a different perspective).
The smartest investment anyone who's donating can make is ... education. Helping build schools, or pay for underprivileged schooling, etc. Not even providing food for the homeless actually helps in the greater scheme of things. It's the humanitarian thing to do ... but it's a short term solution, well not even a solution at all ... just a momentary band-aid.
well said!
Just goes to prove that heading a monopoly is the way to get rich, no matter where you live.
It tells me that more money is going back across the borders to the other monopoly!
Is he laundering money? I can't help but think that the cocaine money is getting washed by the tele-com business...
With a name like 'Carlos Slim', I fee like he should have made his fortune hustling pool halls.
Slim is a misspelling of Saleem, or some variant since his dad was Lebanese. No gangster at all, just someone in immigration somewhere that wasn't too good with his vowels.
Cell phone service is the new crack - if the iPhone doesn't prove that, Slim Picken's here does!
Where's the investigation into how he spreads the wealth? Doubt he does.....
@ Prasand: You, my friend, have hit the nail on the head. I couldn't have said it better myself.
the bastard bought verizon wireless in puerto rico! lets see how he handles things around here... Verizon Wireless in PR is now called Claro.
La ironia de mi pais
"The irony of my country" - (According to Google) for the majority of the blog that uses English.
not to mention the erosion of the us dollar...
Thats my dad!
Interesting.
Others have mentioned this, but--any additional word on this guy's philanthropic contributions? Wikipedia has some sort of vague stuff--but if you had to put a number on it, what would it be?
"According to a 2004 Forbes magazine article, Gates gave away over $29 billion to charities from 2000 onwards." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_gates#Philanthropy
That's a bunch...
Yeah, one would think he feels bad or is compensating for something in his life... well, that, or he's trying to kill the evil image of him buying out and crushing anyone that gets in his way. It's funny how the older people get they try to make up for their youthful mistakes in charities and church.
Giving away that much money doesn't even dent his finances. Even ONE billion is a lot of money, and he has far more than that left over. As to trying to ease his guilty conscience is concerned, thank you for being a jackass. When you see that someone gives away that much of their own free will, keep it in perspective of how much they have left, but don't discount a good deed just because you think the doer is a bad person.
"but don't discount a good deed just because you think the doer is a bad person."
So if a drug ring leader gave a bunch of money to Red Cross, would you call the person a saint?
"but don't discount a good deed just because you think the doer is a bad person."
So if a drug ring leader gave a bunch of money to Red Cross, would you call the person a saint?
what he meant was, no need to automatically assume someone did a really good deed to make up for something bad, even if they are a bad person, people can be complicated.
have any of you guys really come to Mexico, there are poor people yeah, most countries have. but any way the point is i really get pissed when people think of mexico as a country where you'll find sombreros everywhere, drunk people everywhere. I know i dont live in a first class country and im aware of that but it is really not as bad as people tend to think, or do you really think i live next to a cactus?, if so what you really need is to save some money, go out and see the world, because there are other things besides USA.
This guy is a dick. when someone asked him if he would give back any money to his community (like gates or warren buffet does) he said, "I'm not santa clause" and saw no reason to share.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller#Philanthropy
In the Bill Gates article it said he worked with the family.. JD Rockefeller gave away HALF his fortune over his life time..
hey, at least he's got a pretty name :)
This one guy represents a whole 8% of the entire Mexican GDP... what a sad country.
Yeah, but Carlos Slim doesn't have the #2 most desired sperm!
Mexico is not a country with half its population starving, however, there are lots of poor people. Slim got all his fortune charging high prices on telephone and cell phone services, and I think that THAT is the problem.
I don't think it is a solution that he gives out the money to the poor people, but he could at least charge a fair amount (why does he want so much money anyways), so that low resources families don't losse even more money paying telephone bills.
But the worst part of the situation is that Slim claims he is helping Mexico grow, Telmex supposedly gives scholarships for the University, but this scholarship is half a minimum wage (70 dollars a month), and a computer which doesn't work (I know lots of people who own a Telmex computer whose hard drive doesn't work, or whose screen does not turn on).
He has become rich making life more difficult for lower classes, and falsely claims to make charity. He does not deserve what he has.
he says that money is not supposed to be given away like santa claus, he even mocked bill gates and warren buffet for donating their fortunes
why do americans think they know everything about everything??? is it because they are allways minding someonelses bussines.
Yeah the goverment of mexico its f*cked up and this guy isnt even a real mexican he is libanese or something, but hey at least we didnt kill inocent people in their own country talk about a f*cked up goverment and a very, very sad country.
i wonder how much Slim would have to pay in tax as Mexico don't have the IRS
There is an IRS in Mexico, its called "Hacienda"
This guy is the spitting image of Sir Alan Sugar (Owner of Amstrad Computers and of UK TV Show 'The Apprentice' fame). I bet Alan wishes he had Carlos' cash reserves though. Generally speaking the more money you have the less scruples you have. What kind of human being are you if you don't do good with that money? It wouldn't be humanly possible to spend his money in a lifetime. Think Brewster's BILLIONS!
I do not want to belittle the philanthropic efforts of Bill Gates in any way but I would like to put some things in perspective as so many people are seeing Gates as some sort of angel and look down on "a Mexican" who dares to have so much money.
- Gates was ranked as "richest person of the world" for six consecutive years since 1995 by Forbes Magazine before he even started to donate in substantial quantities and founded his foundation in 2000. Although I am sure he nowadays is totally convinced about what he is doing, he was pressed by advisers to turn to charity (and for a long time reluctant) to improve the public image of Microsoft during the browser war anti-trust case. By that time Gates' fortune had broken the 100 billion US-$ mark due to Microsoft's stock explosion.
- According to Forbes Magazine Carlos Slim has donated "close to 4 billion US-$" already, that's way short of Gates' combined 29 billion but still not shabby either, especially if you consider that Slim's fortune skyrocketed during the last two years similarly to Bill's fortune in earlier times. Stock value is paper value until sold.
- Slim has profited from close connections to the Mexican government that laid the foundation to his fortune but the record of Bill Gates isn't totally clean either with all the former Microsoft monopoly practices even though they have lost most of their leverage during the internet age.
Almost all other self-made billionaires (maybe except for the Google founders) have exploited and profited from more or less unfair advantages at an earlier time even if they have long forgotten about it and turned into docile and charming family men. Small inequalities that your competitors do not have access to are absolutely essential for building a huge multi-billion dollar fortune, anywhere in the world.
I was surprised to hear the Slim took the number 1 spot. Gates has been at the top for 13 years now. What really surprises me is that Slim is a partner in American Movil and gets 33% share.
I didn't even hear of the guy until yesterday so I'm not going to start insulting him since I don't even know if he donates money or anything. But for the richest man in the world to live in Mexico, where almost all of the population lives in severe poverty and is willing to risk death and injury to et into the United States, something doesn't seem right.
so everyone in mexico is living poor. they need to work hard atleast something different has happened, we are tied of Amaerican being on top of everything. i know they're just jealous that why they're raving about the poverty in mexico.
Meh, fuggedaboudit. Slim Shady's stock value will fall next week because a couple of kids set fire to one of the colos knocking out service, and Fatty McFat Fat will be back on top again.
You know that this man will obtain his goal.
http://www.withyouitspossible.com
If he obtain this, he will be richest man of the world.
I do not understand how a country like Mexico who is home to the richest man in the world and has more billionaires than Switzerland can be characterized as a third world country? How do they justify exporting all the poor with the expectation of an annual 23 billion dollar return? What sort of changes need to be made to provide schools, living wage jobs and medical assisatance to the less fortunate? If the rich of Mexico don’t want to share than the least they could do is put birth control in the drinking water.
Okay seriously people, im from Mexico, and the fees for telmex are not high at all, I might even say they are cheap, and so is telcel, the biggest cellphone company.
And btw, Mexico is not poor, some people are, down in the south, but up here in the north, people live just as, or even better than some people in the states.
So maybe you should think a little wider, and get some global perspective, this is the way you people see the world:
The United States: Wonderland
The rest of the world: Poor and defensless
You guys are not the protectors of the world, please let it go and mind your own bussiness.