POSITION
Founder
COMPANY
COUNTRY
Mexico
AGE
84 years
Website
Est. Net Worth
$71.9 Billion Forbes
SCENE
SOCIAL
Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican business tycoon, engineer, investor and avid philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Forbes ranked Slim as the richest person in the world. The magnate made his fortune through numerous investments held under his conglomerate Grupo Carso which reportedly transects nearly 40% of the Mexican Stock Exchange.
Despite declining to commit to the Giving Pledge like many of his peers on Global Shakers list of philanthropists, Slim to date has had a huge humanitarian impact and has channelled 5% of his $65 billion-plus fortune into initiatives in arts, education, healthcare, environment and restoration through the Fundación Carlos Slim (Carlos Slim Foundation) which he founded in 1986.
Over the last 10 years, Slim has lit a fire under his charitable efforts, more than doubling the funding of his two main philanthropic vehicles, the Fundación Carlos Slim and the Fundación Telmex, to some $8 billion and giving another $600 million in support of efforts to combat disease and poverty in Mexico City.
In partnership with the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, he also has given at least $200 million in support of anti-poverty projects in Latin America and has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and distribute more resilient higher-yielding varieties of wheat and maize.
Whilst Slim is undoubtedly a major philanthropic supporter, he is famously quoted as stating “employment requires that companies invest, so we don’t need to give away companies, we need to create companies.” He believes the responsibility of businesses leaders is to help solve problems through business practice and not charity and that only education and jobs can lift people out of poverty.
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