Carlos Slim Helu

Along with his family, Carlos Slim Helú is the wealthiest man in Latin America. He has $35 billion, even after losing $25 billion. Slim is also a self-made billionaire. He has an interesting history. Even though he lives in Mexico City, he is the son of an immigrant from Lebanon (his father’s original surname was Salim). He studied engineering, and made his money in the telecom industry. He was the leader in a group of investors that bought two telephone companies from the Mexican government in 1990. His diverse holdings include real estate, technology, oil, gas and even a stake in The New York Times Company. He even loaned the company money earlier this year. Slim’s wealth is worth about the same as 2% of the economic output of the entire country of Mexico.