Carlos Slim: how much did the wealth of the tycoon who helped him rise on the list of the world's billionaires

Carlos Slim is the wealthiest person in all of Mexico, and he owns some of the most important companies in Mexico. The Mexican businessman has been on the list of millionaires of the American financial magazine Forbes for several decades.

He was even listed as the richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013. Last year, Slim was ranked 16th among the richest people in the world by Forbes, with a fortune estimated at $62.8 billion. However, in the list of the richest people in the world this 2022, released this Tuesday, Forbes positioned Slim in 13th place, rising 3 places, with a fortune of USD 81.2 billion.

Forbes even placed the Lebanese-born Mexican among the millionaires who made the highest earnings over the past year, which also included other tycoons, such as the richest person in the world Elon Musk; Canadian Chang Peng Zhao and Frenchman Rodolfo Saadé.

Slim's fortune, compared to last year, increased by USD 18 billion. This is due, according to the magazine, a 42% increase in the shares of its Latin American telecommunications company América Móvil. Slim sold his 10% stake in The New York Times newspaper in late 2020, when the shares were trading at more than $40 per share. He had exercised guarantees to buy those shares in 2015, for more than $6 each.

Slim has been steadily up and down the Forbes list for many years.

The Mexican magnate managed to enter the magazine's list in 1991, when he accumulated a “discreet” fortune of $1 billion. It should be noted that, to enter the Forbes list, you have to have, at least, a fortune of $1 billion.

It was from that year, and to date, that the Mexican magnate has appeared on that list, has increased or decreased his fortune, but without leaving it. However, Slim was not the first Mexican to appear on that list, since the Garza Sada family had previously appeared, with a fortune of USD 2 billion, thanks to Grupo Alfa's operations.

Since then, the Mexican was already known for making significant investments in times of crisis, such as the one that hit the country in 1982, when the businessman bought Minera Frisco, Seguros de México (now Grupo Financiero Inbursa), the Euzkadi and General Tire tires, among others.

Also, during the six-year term of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, from 1988 to 1994, some of the most important public companies in Mexico were privatized. One of them was Teléfonos de México (Telmex), which was acquired by Slim and a group of shareholders, for approximately USD 1.7 billion.

In 1994, it was thought that the Mexican economy was going through one of its best moments, and it was seen as one of the next generators of wealth, at least, that was the Forbes list, as 14 new Mexicans entered the list, with a total of 24, in addition to Slim already ranking sixth among the richest in the world with USD 6.6 billion. Mexico was the fourth country with the most millionaires on Forbes magazine's list, behind only the United States, Germany and Japan.

However, that year came what became known as the “December Error”, and with it, the devaluation of the peso, which erased all expectations of Mexico. By 1995, 15 Mexicans left the list, and Slim's fortunes were severely affected, dropping almost half, from $6.6 billion in 1994 to $3.7 billion a year later.

Little by little he recovered from that hard blow, and 10 years later, he already had a fortune of USD 23 billion. By 2010 he disseated Bill Gates from the top position of the richest men in the world, with a fortune of $54 billion. Slim remained in that position until 2013, when he was again displaced by the creator of Microsoft.

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