World’s Richest Man in 2010 'Carlos Slim Helu'

Carlos Slim Helú (Spanish pronunciation: [ karlos e slim e lu]; born January 28, 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, philanthropist and the chairman and CEO of Telmex, América Móvil. His extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso, SA de CV, amassed interests in the fields of communications, technology, retailing, and finance. As of April 2010, he is the wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of around US$60.6 billion.

EARLY LFE-- Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His father, Julián Slim Haddad, a Syriac-Maronite Catholic, immigrated to Mexico in 1902 from Lebanon, alone at 14 years of age, speaking no Spanish. Carlos Slim's mother, Linda Helú, was born in Parral, Chihuahua. She was the daughter of José Helú and Wadiha Atta, Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century. They founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. In 1911, Julián established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente (The Star of the Orient) and purchased real estate in downtown Mexico City. In August 1926, Julián Slim and Linda Helú married in Mexico City. They had six children, of whom Carlos was the youngest son. Julian died in 1952.

PERSONAL WEALTH-- In March of 2010 he was named the world's richest man by Forbes Magazine with an estimated wealth of $53.5 billion. On August 4, 2007, The Wall Street Journal ran a cover story profiling Slim. The article said, "While the market value of his stake in publicly traded companies could decline at any time, at the moment he is probably wealthier than Bill Gates". On March 29, 2007, Slim surpassed Warren Buffett as the world's second richest person with an estimated net worth of US$53.1 billion compared with Buffett's US$52.4 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, Slim credits part of his ability to "discover investment opportunities" early to the writings of his friend, futurist author Alvin Toffler.

AWARDS-- Slim has been awarded the Entrepreneurial Merit Medal of Honor from Mexico's Chamber of Commerce. He is a "gold patron" of the American Academy of Achievement, a Commander in the Belgian Order of Leopold II, CEO of the year in 2003 by Latin Trade magazine, and one year later CEO of the decade by the same magazine.