Mexican Tycoon Carlos Slim Joins Elite Club of Super-Rich The News International
go to original December 19, 2023

Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim’s fortune has passed the $100 billion mark for the first time, a dozen years after he was crowned the wealthiest person in the world, foreign media reports.

While the 83-year-old magnate has made few major overhauls of his portfolio in recent years, he’s riding the “super peso,” which has seen the Mexican currency surge about 14% against the US dollar this year.

Slim has added about $27 billion to his fortune in 2023 — including $3 billion on Thursday — to increase his lead as the richest Latin American, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Overall, he’s slipped in the global ranking to 11th as technology founders have largely taken over the top spots.

The bulk of Slim’s $101.5 billion fortune comes from telecommunications company America Movil SAB, which collects almost 40% of its revenue in Mexican pesos and also has exposure to the euro from its operations in Austria. Shares of Slim’s Grupo Carso SAB, which does everything from construction to operating restaurants and shops, have soared 109% this year and are the best performing in Mexico’s benchmark index.

Slim’s businesses this year made one of their biggest bets yet on crude production in Mexico by buying in to the mega oil field Zama. His Spanish construction firm FCC raised €965 million ($1.1 billion) selling a 25% stake in a unit to Canadian pension operator CPPIB and is reported to be looking to acquire a majority stake in real estate firm Metrovacesa. In November, America Movil boosted its majority stake in Telekom Austria AG to 58%.

Even after transferring some stakes in his companies to his six children, Slim remains active on a day-to-day basis and retains the majority of decision-making responsibilities, according to people familiar with his schedule.

Read the rest at The News International

Related: Carlos Slim Builds Bet on Firms Behind Mexico’s Mega Oil Project (Bloomberg News)

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