William Gates III (Bill) and Warren Buffet have taken a back seat on the Forbes ‘World’s Richest’ Persons list to a billionaire from the developing country of Mexico.
Carlos Slim, 70, sits at the top of this list with a total net worth of $53.5 billion.
Directly behind him are both William Gates III, 54, with a net worth of $53 billion, and Warren Buffet, 79, with a net worth of $47 billion.
Carlos Slim, a civil engineer and son of a Lebanese immigrant shopkeeper, dominates the Mexican commercial scene with companies in retail, telecom, manufacturing, and construction.
Telmex, a Slim owned company, dominates the Mexican telecommunications industry by claiming 83 percent of land phone lines, while another one of his firms is known as the leading cell phone operator of Mexico. Slim also plans on offering television and interactive media.
Aside from owning these companies, Slim also owns Sears and Saks retail stores operating in Mexico. And he also announced a $250 million investment in the New York Times in January of 2009.
Although Slim tops this list with $53.5 billion, do not expect to see him living it up with expensive designer suits or on high tech computers and gadgets, he prefers writing his note on paper. Instead Mr. Slim is an avid baseball fan and enjoys the aromas and taste of a good cigar.
Slim claims the title as the Worlds Richest Person mainly because of the philanthropic ways of both Gates and Buffet.
Gates and Buffet are in positions two and three because of the billions of dollars that they donate to various organizations. Slim on the other hand does not donate nearly as much; therefore this key aspect is what catapulted him to the top.
This was the first time since 1994 that a non – American has taken the title of ‘Worlds Richest’ person. And it is also the first time a person from a developing country has claimed the title as well.
This current list of billionaire’s sheds light on a new trend that is currently taking place in the world. More billionaires are emerging from developing countries such as India, Brazil, and Mexico. These three countries are represented in the top 10 richest persons in the world according to Forbes.
With this said who will claim this title next year? Will we see more developing countries entering the mix or will Carlos Slim defend his top position? We will just have to just wait and see.
