You may or may not have heard of Carlos Slim Helu (Carlos Slim), a successful Mexican billionaire businessman who is known to take small, struggling companies and turn them into multi-million-dollar corporate empires. He was not just someone who made smart investments. He is also the wealthiest person in all of Mexico and, as of 2023, is worth about $100.8 billion.
Who is Carlos Slim?
Carlos Slim is not just a successful businessman and the richest person in his country; he is also the 8th richest billionaire in the world and considered to be in the top 20 of the most powerful people.
Carlos Slim's success is tied to hard work and strategy, something that we can all learn from and apply to our own personal financial goals.
Carlos Slim's Background
Born in Mexico City in 1940 to Lebanese migrant parents, Carlos Slim showed interest in business investment and operations after seeing his father succeed in opening his own business and investing them into other ventures, like real estate.
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From a young age, Carlos Slim became interested in business and commerce.
His father saw this and took him under his wing, teaching him life-long skills like bookkeeping, management, and understanding financial statements. Unfortunately, these lessons were short-lived, as his father passed when he was only 13 years old.
But he did not take this as a discouragement to his goals but instead used what he learned as the foundation to continue his education and personal finances.
As he got older, he remained employed in his father's company, which he would eventually inherit.
“If you're in business, you need to understand the environment. You need to have a vision of the future, and you need to know the past”.
-Carlos Slim
Professional Development
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Carlos Slim studied civil engineering to further his education in Mexico. While studying engineering, he piqued an interest in economics and chose to pursue it when he started his career.
Eventually, he landed his first role in finance, where he worked long hours as a stock trader in Mexico City.
In just four years of working in finance, he was able to reap the benefits from all that he had learned and invested. At just 25 years old, he netted about $400,000—about $3.6 million today when considering inflation.
As the years went by, he made smart investments, including buying companies that were about to go under.
In the 80s, an oil crisis was sinking the Mexican economy and pushing many companies into bankruptcy. He was able to invest in companies like Cigatam, Reynolds Aluminum, General Tire, and Sanborns.
Other largely known companies that Carlos Slim have been involved in are: The New York Times, Sears, Saks Fifth Avenue, Office Depot, Office Max, Shazam (The mobile app).
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