Carlos Slim
A Mexican tycoon who built a sprawling empire from telecoms to retail, reshaping his nation's economy and becoming a defining figure of global wealth.
Born 1940 (age 86)·Mexican business oligarch·Birthday: January 28·The Silent Generation
Biography
Born in Mexico City in 1940, Carlos Slim Helú learned the principles of finance and investment from his Lebanese immigrant father. After studying engineering, he began building a portfolio of diverse companies, displaying a knack for identifying undervalued assets. His defining move came in the 1990s with the privatization of Telmex, Mexico's national telephone company, which he acquired and transformed into a telecommunications giant. This became the cornerstone of Grupo Carso, a vast conglomerate with tentacles in construction, mining, retail, and finance. Slim's wealth, which once made him the world's richest person, is a testament to his strategy of controlling essential infrastructure in a growing economy. His influence is omnipresent in Mexican daily life, from the phones people use to the department stores they shop in, making him a polarizing symbol of concentrated economic power who also directs significant funds toward philanthropic projects in health and education.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Carlos was born in 1940, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carlos Was Born
The biggest hits of 1940
#1 Movie
Fantasia
Best Picture
Rebecca
Carlos's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1940Born
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1945Started school
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1953Became a teenager
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1956Could drive
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1958Could vote
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1961Turned 21
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1970Turned 30
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1980Turned 40
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 50
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 60
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 70
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 80
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 86 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Led the investor group that acquired Telmex in 1990, building it into a Latin American telecommunications powerhouse.
- Built Grupo Carso, a sprawling industrial and commercial conglomerate with holdings in hundreds of companies.
- Ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world from 2010 through 2013.
- Established the Carlos Slim Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in Latin America.
- Held a net worth exceeding $100 billion, making him consistently the wealthiest individual in Latin America for decades.
Did You Know?
His father, Julián Slim Haddad, was a Lebanese immigrant who established a successful dry goods store in Mexico City.
He is an avid collector of art, particularly the works of Auguste Rodin, owning one of the largest private collections of the sculptor's pieces.
Despite his immense wealth, he has lived for decades in the same relatively modest six-bedroom house in Mexico City.
He bought a significant stake in The New York Times Company in 2008, becoming one of its largest shareholders.
He is known for his hands-on management style, often reviewing detailed financial reports from his companies daily.
““When you live for others’ opinions, you are dead. I don’t want to live thinking about how I’ll be remembered.””
