Rumble In the Jungle Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [quote][img]http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/ww/news/2007/07/06/carlos_slim_big.jpg[/img] MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has overtaken Microsoft founder Bill Gates as the richest person on the planet, the Mexican financial website Sentido Comun reported. Sentido Comun said the Mexican billionaire's wealth had rocketed past Gates following the red-hot performance of his telecommunications firm, America Movil. US-based Forbes magazine, renowned for its rankings of the world's wealthiest individuals, updated its listings in April to rank Slim as the second richest individual in the world, as he bested the legendary US investor Warren Buffett. The Mexican financial website said Slim's lead over Gates amounted to billions of dollars. "Thanks to a 26.5-percent rise in the shares of America Movil during the second quarter, Slim, who controls a 33-percent interest in Latin America's largest mobile phone company, is substantially richer than Gates," Sentido Comun said. "The difference between their two fortunes is around nine billion dollars in favor of Slim," the financial website claimed. It said it had based its calculations largely on the share price movements of companies controlled by Slim. The website said soaring performances from Slim's other business interests had also helped propel him past Gates. Aside from America Movil, Slim controls the INBURSA financial group and the Grupo Carso industrial firm with interests spanning retail stores, coffee shops and restaurants. One reason for Slim's meteoric rise might be because he is also still working. Gates stepped aside as Microsoft chief in 2000 to devote his energies to the philanthropic foundation he runs with his wife, Melinda. Forbes in April had pegged Slim's wealth at a staggering 53.1 billion dollars, and said Gates was sitting on a 56-billion-dollar fortune. Slim, the son of Lebanese immigrants, has had business in his blood from his early days when he helped out in his father's shop, "The Star of the Orient." The 67-year-old started out in real estate and was already affluent enough when he graduated from university with an engineering degree to buy stakes in a stock brokerage and a bottling firm. During the crippling Latin American economic crisis of the early 1980s, Slim snapped up and reformed a number of distressed businesses, banking massive profits for Grupo Carso. Carso gained its name from the first three letters of Slim's name and the first two of his late wife's, Soumaya Gemayel. Analysts say one of Slim's smartest and most lucrative deals occurred when he took control of Telefonos de Mexico (Telemex) in 1990 as the then government moved to privatize the sprawling monopoly. Slim oversaw a 1.8-billion-dollar investment to take over Telemex, but he then overhauled the company and expanded its service as the telecom firm became the star of the Mexican stock exchange and more than returned Slim's initial investment. The Mexican billionaire has also made some savvy stock picks. In 1997, he bought about three percent of Apple Computer at 17 dollars a share shortly before the company launched its hit iMac computer. Twelve months later, Apple's shares topped 100 dollars. Despite his vast riches, Slim reportedly shuns corporate jets and flashy offices and sported a plastic watch during the 1990s. Widowed in 1999, Slim has boosted his philanthropic presence and overseen his three sons' careers within his business empire. Like Gates, he has developed a strong profile on the philanthropic front. Earlier this month he allied himself with the foundation of former US president Bill Clinton and with Canadian mining magnate Frank Giustra to launch an anti-poverty campaign in Latin America. Fifty-three percent of Mexico's population of 104 million live in poverty, which is defined as living on less than two dollars a day, World Bank data show.[/quote] [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070704/ts_afp/lifestylemexico"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070704/ts_afp/lifestylemexico[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 He needs to share some of that money with his fellow countrymen. 53% Poverty? Geeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Montana Bengal| Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [quote name='Rumble in the Jungle' post='508124' date='Jul 6 2007, 01:28 PM'][url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070704/ts_afp/lifestylemexico"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070704/ts_afp/lifestylemexico[/url][/quote] [b][size=5]NOOOOOOO!!!!![/size][/b] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackJesus Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [size=3][quote name='Rumble in the Jungle' post='508124' date='Jul 6 2007, 03:28 PM']Fifty-three percent of Mexico's population of 104 million live in poverty, which is defined as [b]living on less than two dollars a day[/b][/quote][/size] [center][img]http://www.informativos.telecinco.es/imgsed/marcos_300.jpg[/img] [font="Arial Narrow"][size=3][b]I hope Subcomandante Marcos shoots his ass [/b][/size][/font][/center] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackJesus Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [quote name='Rumble in the Jungle' post='508124' date='Jul 6 2007, 03:28 PM']Mexican passes Bill Gates as planet's richest person[/quote] [color="#556B2F"][font="Arial Narrow"][size=3][b]- Awaits joke about Mexicans doing the jobs Americans don't want to do ...[/b][/size][/font][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackJesus Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [center][img]http://i2.tinypic.com/t9w5dh.jpg[/img] [font="Arial Narrow"][size=3][b]- I am sure Lou Dobbs head exploded this morning [/center][/b][/size][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble In the Jungle Posted July 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 he's originally lebanese ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble In the Jungle Posted July 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 just curious though BJ, why you mad at him instead of the government ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackJesus Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 [quote name='Rumble in the Jungle' post='508181' date='Jul 6 2007, 07:05 PM']just curious though BJ, why you mad at him instead of the government ?[/quote] [font="Arial Narrow"][size=3][b]There really isn't a "Mexican" Government ... there is a very large impoverished corporate sponsored 51st state south of Texas, where Home Depot gets their roofers [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/23.gif[/img] [/b][/size][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatScratchFever Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 [quote name='sois' post='508139' date='Jul 6 2007, 04:49 PM']He needs to share some of that money with his fellow countrymen. 53% Poverty? Geeze.[/quote] Vladimir Lenin agrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingStripes Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Those values are based on stock price. He does some good things in Mexico. He has the biggest foundation in latin america, he donated a big museum that was his passed away wifes wish (he buys at least one new piece for the museum everyday), and he does other donations. Mainly he does not believe in giving people the fish, or helping them out just by giving money away. What he is trying to do is to create more jobs and better education. He invested (and also won) a ton of money by putting together a total restructuring of downtown mexico city. It is becoming a chic distric after it was old and outdated. What he has done in mexico is not acceptable though. He built all his money through a monopoly of the telephone sector and he has been charging the highest fees for it in the world. The infrastructure barrier has prevented all competition from being relevant. Furthermore now he has the biggest latin american cell phone company based on the same clients as his regular phone company. I object to the way he got his money, but he is a great businessman with a gift of turning companys around. He will donate more with the time to come, however since there is no estate? (leaving the money to his kids after he dies) tax in Mexico and all his sons work in the business, his empire will probably be broken up in years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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