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Photo: Tania Victoria / Secretaria de Cultura de la Ciudad de Mexico, 20 December 2018, CC BY 2.0, cropped and downscaled · Wikimedia Commons, 'Carlos Slim (45680472234) (cropped).jpg' -- photograph by Tania Victoria for the Secretaria de Cultura de la Ciudad de Mexico, taken 20 December 2018 at the opening of the Museo Soumaya Casa Guillermo Tovar de Teresa and published on the city culture secretariat's Flickr account under CC BY 2.0; the Flickr page shows CC BY 2.0 and the uncropped Commons file carries a passed Flickr licence review (FlickreviewR 2, 2 March 2020). Cropped file 1456 x 2040 pixels, downscaled to 856 x 1200. · CC BY 2.0
entrepreneur · Contemporary
Carlos Slim
b. 1940
Known For
entrepreneurialindustrial
Not yet included in personality matching — the documented evidence doesn't yet cover enough of the personality model. Everything else on this page is fully available.
Trait Constellation
Key Achievements
Built the Grupo Carso conglomerate; after Mexico's 1982 crash he bought controlling interests in companies at low prices and managed them so effectively that, Britannica says, their aggregate value soared within a decade.
Led the group, with SBC and France Telecom, that bought a controlling interest in the state telephone company Telmex in 1990 for US$1.76 billion, and committed to invest up to US$10 billion in its network over five years.
America Movil, the mobile arm separated from Telmex in 2001, grew into one of the world's largest telecom companies; Mexico's regulator has treated it as the dominant telecom player since 2014, and critics blame its market share for high prices.
Moments That Reveal Them
After the 1982 default, when Britannica says government bank nationalisations were scaring investors away, he bought controlling stakes in a range of Mexican companies at low prices and then restored them.
This is consistent with buying against the flow of capital when assets were cheap, though the sources do not state his own reasoning. Independent Thinking
He put about US$2 billion into the US retailer CompUSA from 1999; it was wound down in 2007, and Britannica calls it a rare misstep after he misjudged his ability to turn it around.
This is consistent with willingness to commit very large sums to a turnaround, including one that did not work. Risk Tolerance
Turning Points
In December 1990 a group led by his Grupo Carso, with SBC and France Telecom, bought a controlling interest in Telmex from the government, turning a diversified conglomerate into a telecommunications company.
This is consistent with recognising a large, underserved market and committing capital to it. Opportunity Sensing
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Sources
- Carlos Slim (Q170419) -- verified live via the Wikidata API (2026-10-25): English label 'Carlos Slim', description 'Mexican business magnate and investor', born 28 January 1940, no date of death, instance of human. Orientation only; not used as support for any row.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Carlos Slim Helu' (Britannica Money), updated 29 September 2026 -- reference biography: the Grupo Carso conglomerate, bargain purchases after the 1982 crash, the 1990 Telmex purchase with SBC and France Telecom, the 2001 separation of America Movil, the CompUSA misjudgement and later US holdings. CANONICAL SIGNIFICANCE SOURCE. Read in full as far as 2016; used for chronology and as the orientation to his primary contribution.
- Goldman Sachs, 'Telmex Privatization is First International Equity Offering from a Mexican Corporation' (firm history page) -- the adviser's account of the state of Mexican telephony before 1990 (waiting periods of up to three years, 4.9 lines per 100 people) and of the December 1990 sale of a controlling interest to a Grupo Carso-led group for US$1.76 billion. Adviser's own account of a deal it worked on; used for facts about the sale, not for trait claims. Read in full.
- International Directory of Business Biographies (Gale), 'Slim, Carlos 1940-', reproduced on Encyclopedia.com -- reference profile built on Financial Times and New York Times reporting (1990-2004): distressed purchases after 1982, the Telmex consortium and its US$10 billion five-year investment commitment, the 1997 competitive response to new long-distance entrants, and the creation of a holding company to buy Telmex stock. Secondary reference summary; the family and health passages were not used. Read in full.
- The Scotsman newsroom, 'Profile: Carlos Slim', 13 March 2010 -- newspaper profile written when he overtook Bill Gates on the rich list: counter-cyclical buying of distressed companies, the Telmex purchase and the dispute over how he won it, comments from critic Denise Dresser and from former associate Randall Stephenson, and his command of financial data on telecom companies. Sympathetic-to-neutral press profile with a named critic. The paragraphs about his personal habits, temper and family were not used. Read in full.
- Chris Arsenault (Al Jazeera English), 'Monopolies scamming Mexican voters', 29 June 2012 -- feature on market concentration in Mexico, quoting the OECD's January 2012 report on Mexican telecommunications (estimated overcharging of US$13.4 billion a year), Slim's reply that a 70 percent share leaves 30 percent for competitors, the competition regulator dropping a near-US$1 billion fine on America Movil, and critics and a pro-business think-tank. Critical counter-voice. The election-campaign and television-sector passages were not used. Read in full.
- Reuters (via Fortune), 'Mexico May Force Carlos Slim to Prise Open His Company', 1 March 2017 -- wire report that Mexico's telecoms regulator discussed legally separating part of Telmex, that competitors said wholesale rules were not working, and that America Movil's profit margin fell from over 45 to under 30 percent after the 2013-14 reforms. Independent wire report; unnamed sources, outcome unconfirmed. Read in full.
- Arturo Solis (Bloomberg Linea), 'A Carlos Slim le regalaron Telmex?', 13 February 2024 -- report on his marathon press conference: his own account of Telmex's valuation in 1986, 1989 and 1990 and of the backlog of unfulfilled phone requests at privatisation, his statement that Telmex runs at a loss and will not be sold, and the regulator's 2014 designation of America Movil as a preponderant player. Largely his own statements as reported by a news outlet; used for corroboration only, never as sole support. Read in full.
- Agam Shah (IDG News Service), 'CompUSA closing shop', InfoWorld, 10 December 2007 -- trade-press report on the wind-down of CompUSA after losses, citing the Wall Street Journal that Slim had put about US$2 billion into the chain since 1999 and had been seeking to sell his stake. Independent, contemporaneous. Read in full.