The Man That Turned His Passion Into Millions of Dollars, Meet Carlos Slim

Through the days, we can’t help but look for inspiration in others hoping that it would reflect on us and help us gain more and do more as we go. Today, our main source of inspiration is Charles Slim, the Lebanese billionaire that made every penny he has from scratch. Let’s take a look at his story and who he is and try to learn a lesson from it.

Who is Charles Slim?

Carlos Slim is a Mexican billionaire of Lebanese origin, and one of the most famous businessmen and philanthropists; He currently owns more than 200 investment projects in various commercial fields and has been on the Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people for several years in a row. 

He learned the basics of commerce from his father at an early age, and as a teenager, he worked in his family's business. After graduating from university, he started investing seriously, and gradually he set out to build a multi-disciplinary business empire consisting of a group of companies that he had developed and bought himself.

Today, he has holdings in Latin America and shares in international companies in a variety of fields, from construction and manufacturing to dry food and tobacco.

One of his most famous and influential investments is the near-total monopoly of the mobile phone market in Mexico, which at one point provided more than 80% of mobile services in this country; He has devoted a large part of his vast wealth to various charitable projects, which are dedicated to preserving the environment, providing certified and affordable health care, protecting heritage and the arts, and many other humanitarian goals.

He holds the position of Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors for his father's company, Grupo Carso, for life, but after undergoing heart surgery, many of his day-to-day responsibilities in the company are passed on to his children.

So, how did he get to where he is right now? Allow me to tell the story from the very beginning.

Slim’s Rise to Success:

Carlos Slim Helú was born on January 28, 1940, in Mexico City, Mexico, to parents of Lebanese descent. He had six brothers, and his father owned a profitable dry goods business. Slim and his siblings were taught the techniques of trade from an early age by their father, and at the age of twelve, Slim bought shares in a Mexican bank. Although his father died in 1953, Slim continued to work in his father's trade until he was seventeen years old.

He attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico to study civil engineering. He also taught algebra and linear programming while being at university, and started working in commerce right after his graduation.

Using the solid trading experience he gained from his father, Slim started his own business as a merchant in Mexico. He soon established his own financial intermediary company, through which he invested in several independent companies. By 1965, his capital had grown to the point where he could either merge with other companies or buy them out directly.

By 1966, his fortune was estimated at $40 million. Although he initially invested in several independent fields, his primary focus was on construction, excavation, and real estate, and he continued to acquire companies in these areas.

During the seventies, his empire continued to expand by establishing and acquiring companies in various fields. By 1980, he had consolidated his multiple capitals into the holding company Grupo Galas, which included all of his holdings.

In 1982, the fall in oil prices caused the deterioration and collapse of the Mexican economy, which was mostly dependent on oil. Banks were nationalized, and the Mexican peso depreciated. During the next few years of the economic meltdown, Slim increased his efforts to acquire new companies and acquired large stakes in branches of some international companies in Mexico, including owning 50% of The Hershey Company.

In 1990, his group of companies, the Carso Group, became a global joint stock company, and in the same year he began to expand his influence into the field of communications, where he cooperated with France Télécom and Southwestern Bell Corporation to buy the telephone company Telmex from the Mexican government, and this was the beginning of his almost complete acquisition of Mexican landlines, and later mobile phone services.

After decades of buying off the Mexican branches of several international companies, Slim's influence extended beyond Latin America. where he set up a branch of his Telmex telecommunications company in the United States of America and acquired stakes in the American mobile phone company Tracfone.

Meanwhile, he underwent heart surgery, which made him step back from his daily responsibilities in running his business and delegate these tasks to his children and family members.

During the 2000s, he continued to build his business empire in the United States and Latin America, buying and selling companies, and increasing his stake in his steadfast telecommunications and tobacco companies; During this time, he invested in a variety of companies, including The New York Times Company, Saks Fifth Avenue luxury fashion store, and Volaris Airlines.

On April 23, 2014, it acquired its first successful European investment, Telekom Austria. The company had already established mobile services in seven other European countries, which Slim saw as an excellent opportunity to expand into the Central and Eastern European markets.

As of January 15, 2015, Slim is the largest individual contributor to the New York Times Company, at 16.8%. Slim had paid off the company's debts during its default at the beginning of the American economic depression; in order to acquire those shares.

He founded three non-profit charitable foundations: Fundación Carlos Slim Helú, Fundación Telmex, and Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México, and health care, and one institution is devoted to sports, and the other to the restoration of the city center.

He was ranked the world's richest man four times in a row from 2010 to 2013 by Forbes magazine and has amassed most of his vast fortune himself.

Slim’s Personal Life:

Slim married Somaya Doumit in 1967, and together they had six children. Somaya died of cancer in 1999. In the same year, Slim underwent heart surgery. After the operation, Slim began to take things easy on himself, and assign the daily administrative tasks of his group of companies to his sons.

Slim regularly contributes to charitable causes, in various fields, including education, health, and the arts. His founding of the Carlos Slim El Helou Charitable Foundation in 1989, and his generous contributions to museums, healthcare programs, and wildlife conservation, among other projects, have led to his being ranked number five on Forbes magazine's list of the world's most generous people.

As of March 2017, his fortune is estimated at $54.5 billion, and Slim is ranked sixth on Forbes' list of the world's richest people.

Finally:

Carlos taught us that genuine passion for anything in this world can flourish and turn into the most beautiful thing if given enough time and effort. It was described best by him when he said, “You should devote more time to yourself throughout your entire life and not when you retire at 65.” So, start paying more attention to the things you’re passionate about because you never know where you might end up in the future.