Journal 36 – The richest man in the world

If you think that Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world, you are wrong. A Mexican telecoms tycoon, Carlos Slimi, is the world’s richest person. Carlos Slim, 67, has amassed personal wealth of about 67 billion dollars. More than half of his wealth can be attributed to his 33% holding in mobile phone group America Mobil. It is interesting that on the list published a month ago, Carlos Slim was the third richest man in the world with a fortune of 49 billion dollars, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates worth 56 billion dollars, and Warren Buffett, worth 52 billion dollars. Slim’s fortune have climbed 19 billion dollars in just 12 months. Carlos Slim is a son of Lebanese immigrants.
Slim’s fortune is in stark contrast of Mexico’s population. In Mexico, the average income per capita is about 7,000 dollars. In this country more than 45% of the population lives in poverty. Slim’s fortune is nearly equal to 8% of Mexico’s GDP. It is unbelievable! Mexico is a big country. Carlos Slim has pledged 4 billion dollars into philanthropic foundation. Gates and Buffett have donated tens of billions of dollars.