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Billionaire Carlos Slim beats Bill Gates to top of worlds rich list
Terry Kirby11 Mar 2010
A Mexican billionaire was today ranked as the richest person in the world, the first time the title has been held by a non-American for 16 years.
In Forbes magazine's annual rich list, telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helu saw off Microsoft boss Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to claim the top spot.
Mr Slim, 70, controls a string of companies, including Telmex and America Movil, and has a net worth of $53.5 billion (£35.7 billion).
His retail, telecom, manufacturing and construction companies so dominate Mexico it is easy for Mexicans to find themselves talking on a Slim-operated mobile phone at a Slim-owned shopping mall waiting to pay a bill to a Slim-owned company at a Slim-owned bank. If the queue is too long, they can buy a coffee at a Slim-owned restaurant.
He wears cheap suits and keeps his financial records in notebooks. A baseball fan, his only indulgences are cigars and diet drinks.
In 2005, Mr Slim described his philosophy: “Wealth must be seen as a responsibility, not as a privilege. The responsibility is to create more wealth. It's like having an orchard; you have to give away the fruit, but not the trees.”
His move to the top was helped by the massive donations that Mr Gates and Mr Buffett make to charity.
In Britain, the Duke of Westminster was again the wealthiest man, as he has been for much of the past decade.
Property tycoons David and Simon Reuben were second in the UK, followed by high street billionaire Sir Philip Green.
All three have increased their wealth despite the recession, with the duke gaining £668 million to amass a total net worth of £8 billion. The Reubens are worth £5 billion, while Sir Philip has a fortune of £4.5 billion.
The number of billionaires has risen from 793 last year to 1,011 now. It has yet to reach the 2008 total of 1,125.
For the first time China has the most billionaires — 64 — outside the US, where there are 403. In the top 10, India had two and Brazil one.
Reader views (1)
At that level I somehow doubt that they are particularly worried about who has most - all they need to know is that they have enough not to care. It's mostly the envious and the bitter have nots who worry about these things.
- Rogan, Irving, 11/03/2010 18:21
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