Mexico’s poor frown at Carlos Slim

He has lived in the same house for about 40 years and drives an aging Mercedes Benz, while eschewing private jets, yachts and the other luxuries popular among Mexico’s super-wealthy.

At the end of a recent glitzy event in Mexico City he was seen strolling away with a bodyguard while other wealthy attendees waited for their chauffeured automobiles.

But the heyday of Slim’s telecommunications empire is passing as competition in the industry slowly picks up due to improving technology —Telmex controls 80 per cent of Mexico’s fixed lines and America Movil has more than 70 per cent of the wireless market.

Slim was not the only Mexican to make the Forbes list of billionaires.

Also on it was Ricardo Salinas, who built his fortune selling furniture and appliances to low-income Mexicans, offering credit at interest rates above 60 per cent and sending motorcycle couriers to their homes to collect weekly payments.

Other Mexican billionaires include German Larrea Mota, owner of copper miner Grupo Mexico, Televisa broadcasting tycoon Emilio Azcarraga, supermarket operator Jeronimo Arango and banker Roberto Hernandez.

To the ire of Mexico’s government, the country’s No. 1 drug lord fugitive, Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, is also on the list.

In recent years, Slim has become more involved in combating poverty, illiteracy and poor healthcare in Latin America, while promoting soccer.