Name: Carlos Slim Helú
Age: 66

Occupation: Billionaire businessman

Place of Residence: Mexico City

Bio: Carlos Slim Helú was born the son of Lebanese immigrant shop owners in Mexico City. From Wikipedia: “His father Julián Slim (Yusef Salim) Haddad, a Lebanese Maronite Christian, fled as a teenager to Mexico City in 1902, to escape the harsh military rule of the Ottoman Turks. Julián established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente (Star or the Orient) in 1911, and shrewdly bought up some prime real estate in the city centre. Julián married the daughter of another prosperous Lebanese merchant, and had six children, of which Carlos was the fifth.”

Carlos Slim learned from his father the art of investing, and has invested his way to becoming Mexico’s most powerful businessman, controlling everything from the national telephone company to cell phones to leading the Mexican Stock Exchange as vice-president. There’s no need in attempting to detail all of Slim’s involvement in Mexican and international business ventures. It’s enough to say he’s filthy rich.

Why he’s loved: Some admire Slim for being an example of a successful Latin American businessman. He’s successfully maintained his hold on the telecomm market when American companies such as AT&T have attempted to enter the Mexican marketplace. He recently pledged 2.5 million dollars to charities supporting the poor.

Why he’s hated: For creating telephone monopolies in Mexico which drove prices through the roof due to his squashing of the competition.

Why he’s influential: He’s the 3rd richest person in the world (yes, in the world) and appears yearly on Forbes’ billionaire list. Carlos Slim seems to own everything, and if he doesn’t, he can buy it and will.

VOTE for Carlos Slim as VL’s Most Influential Latino 2006

Photo via BanderasNews.com