Long gone are the times when every year when Forbes World’s Richest Man was revealed and Bill Gates always rested comfortably at the top. This year there is yet another gentleman with the most in the world. His name is Carlos “Slim” Helu:
For the third time in three years, the world has a new richest man. Riding surging prices of his various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil, Mexican tycoon Carlo Slim Helu has beaten out Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth and nab the top spot on the 2010 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires.
Slim’s fortune has swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which Slim owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35% in a year. That massive hoard of scratch puts him ahead of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who had held the title of world’s richest 14 of the past 15 years. Gates, now worth $53 billion, is ranked second in the world. He is up $13 billion from a year ago as shares of Microsoft rose 50% in 12 months. [SOURCE 1] [SOURCE 2]
It must be torture to have the public know your financial worth.
