Carlos Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1940 to Maronite
Catholic parents Julián Slim Haddad and Linda Helú, both of Lebanese descent. His
father, born Khalil Salim Haddad Aglamaz, emigrated to Mexico from Lebanon
(then part of the Ottoman Empire) at the age of 14 in 1902 and changed his name
to Julián Slim Haddad
Slim and his siblings were taught basic business practices
by their father, and at the age of 12, Slim bought shares in a Mexican bank. At
the age of 17, he earned 200 pesos a week working for his father's company. Slim began his career as a trader in Mexico.
He would go on to form his own brokerage firm -- a firm that later expanded to
invest in individual businesses, ranging from construction and manufacturing to
retail and restaurants.
A trained civil engineer and one-time math professor, Slim
made his billions in insurance and via his mobile companies
Funny enough, with his fortune estimated at $74 billion. Slim
says he has no use for luxury yachts or palatial homes. He still lives in the
modest 6-bedroom house he has owned for the last 30 years and is often seen
wearing ordinary-looking plain leather watches. His only luxurious indulgences
are Cuban cigars and art. He also has a navy Mercedes, which he prefers to
drive himself (He doesn't believe in conspicuous consumption and has no
interest in flashy super yachts or palatial houses around the world).
Giving back to the society, In 1995 he established Fundación
Telmex, a broad-ranging philanthropic foundation. This followed the
creation of his eponymous non-profit philanthropic foundation, Fundación
Carlos Slim Helú in 1986. In 2007 Slim announced that the latter body had
been provided with an asset base of $4 billion and that it would be
establishing Carso Institutes for Health, Sports and Education
No comments:
Post a Comment