Slim Helú, unlike his parents, did not have a traumatic childhood. His parents had to survive the devastation of their nation, as did hundreds of thousands of other Lebanese. But, Slim is the symbol of the new generation of Mexicans of Lebanese descent who gave an economic boost to their adopted country.
He inherited from his father the art of doing business. He learned the gift of sniffing out the money, making him somewhat of a modern King Midas.
He forged his destiny from childhood, and by the age of fifty, Slim began to top the charts as one of the richest men in the world.
Slim Helú was born to Julián and a Chihuahuense4 of Lebanese descent named Linda Helú on January 28, 1940. At the time, his parents lived on Mexico Avenue, Number 51, in the Hippodrome Condesa colony, one of the areas of Lebanese ancestry in the Mexican capital.
When his parents were married in 1926, his maternal grandfather, José Helú, one of the most distinguished intellects in the Mexican-Lebanese community, who brought the first Arabic newspaper to Mexico and was the founder of the Al-Jawater (The Ideas), read to those present, the following letter of blessing by Muhamad Abu-Shajín, entitled “Fatherly Love”:
How should I behave on the wedding day of my dear child? How can I be eloquent and meet the needs of my sweet daughter? Oh! How I wish I could do it! I would weave the shining stars together to create the image of two crowns, and perhaps that would be enough.
Linda! To describe you, I will not mimic the mannerisms of a poet. To avoid the swords of the critics, better to speak the language I can best employ in order to give you advice.
Linda: Because you followed the law of the Creator, which is the law of the centuries and of the hidden secret, since you left my arms for another man’s arms, similar to mine, and you left my lap for your groom’s chest, and came out of the soft shadow of your father to find the sweet shade of your love, emulate your mother ’s virtues and her intelligence; imitate her character and her purity.
Be a princess in prosperity and be compassionate, without malice, toward the poor. Docility in a woman is a jewel that distances her from insignificant and meaningless fortune. And ostentation! How many were humiliated and how many tyrants fell from their thrones!
If poverty afflicts you, do not lament, nor should you let yourself be defeated: quite the contrary, accept with certainty the troubles of life and drain the bitter cup until the dregs, and if the envious slander you, rise with nobility over whomever afflicts you, because forgiveness destroys the evil with more precision than the blade of any weapon.
Be faithful to your husband and meet his needs without a murmur; if he smiles with joy, do not furrow your brow; if he gets angry, take it into account, and be strong for him, be bound by loyalty to him, his family and his friends, never do them wrong.
And if your brother hurts your husband, be angry with him, and if your husband is fond of your enemy, welcome them, for happiness in a marriage is a mutual exchange; therefore, learn the intentions of your husband and try to fulfill them.
And if you follow the advice I give you, because I know you so well, you will reap the rewards of virtue and you will be given much more.
Oh! Khalil! Welcome: she is “a portion of my liver,” to the point that I would not hesitate to keep from feeding her with my own blood and give my soul for her happiness; she is a beautiful and chaste virgin; virtuous, noble and educated. And if she offends you, without reason, be understanding and loving and forgive her. And if any unhappiness is ever thrust upon her, protect her with serenity from the evildoer who offended her, because you are the only one who is the master of this house and you will be her refuge on the day she shall be tested.
For you, little children, I bless you with my best wishes: that prosperity and the pleasures of life are with you always.
To all of you, thank you for taking my words of advice, because with these wise words, I have done you a priceless favor.
Khalil, diners, the honorable Slim family and Yúsuf-ElHelú, I thank you.
Slim was the fifth of six children, three girls and three boys: Nour, Alma, Linda, Julián, and José. Josefina the nanny, a Oaxacan who was with the family for more than half a century, played a vital role in Carlos’ childhood and was second only to his mother.
Out of all the siblings, Carlos was the one who inherited his father’s knack for doing business. Slim remembers his father fondly as the patriarch of the Slim family.
“My father gave us an education based on well-defined values,” he said. “He was a loving person with very solid values who always gave thanks to the strong family bond he built. Family was a priority for him. He was able to establish a pleasant life built upon harmony, honor, sincerity and the most profound concern for Mexico.”
Slim’s father did not attach much importance to material things, but rather on the things that truly had significance. According to Slim, his father and mother were very close to him. His mother Linda was a woman with a lot of personality who was quite tidy. The tycoon reminisces about his parents being open-minded people with great human values.
Little Carlos often accompanied Julián to work. Though they talked about many subjects, they most often spoke of business, despite Slim’s young age. He remembers listening to conversations his father had with friends: “They were people from whom I learned a great deal.” From these gatherings, he spawned his own business sense and by ten years old, he was initiated into the business world. He ran a little shop at the foot of the stairs in his house where he would sell sweets and sodas to his relatives on the weekends.
He went to the Augustine College, Alonso Institute of Veracruz, for elementary and secondary school. During those years, Slim learned what “savings” meant. He opened his first checking account with $500 and later invested in National Savings Bonds. With this capital, he later bought his first shares of the National Bank of Mexico while studying for his bachelor’s degree in the National Preparatory School in San Ildefonso.
However, not everything in Slim’s life was pleasant. Although he left his family in a good financial situation, Slim’s father died when he was just thirteen years old
Slim inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from his father. “My father was enormously dedicated to his work and his great entrepreneurial talent was quickly noticed,” Carlos remembers. “The reasons for my father’s commercial success were simple: vocation, talent and hard work. His advice on professional issues and moral and social responsibility was very clear. I quote, in his words: ‘Business must implement a useful system; its activities and purpose lie in a small gain in sales. Fine and cheap articles should be provided to consumers and you should deal directly with them; give credit facilities to adjust their actions to the strictest morality and honesty.’ ”
According to Slim, his father was ahead of his time “because he had a deep knowledge of business. Already in the twenties, he talked about how efficient trade meant selling large volumes with low margins and with additional services, the latter of which stores today still do not incorporate.”
Slim credits his father’s training in making him a saavy investor.
“I must say that from the beginning, I could count on family support, which was not limited to material things, but mainly in being a good example and imparting proper training. In late 1952, when I was twelve, with the idea of administering our income and expenses, my father established that we had to carry a savings passbook, which he would review with us every week,” Slim said. “Following this rule, I took care of my own personal passbook balances for several years. Thus, in January 1955, my personal capital was MX$5,523.32, and by August of 1957, it rose to MX$31,969.26. It continued to grow and I invested primarily in shares of the National Bank of Mexico, sometimes by using credit, and by early 1966 my personal capital was over MX$5 million, not including my inheritance.”
Later, both the valuable and less valuable family investments were divided into six parts among the Slim siblings. In that way, Slim said, he was in contact with the properties on the streets of Corregidora, Alhóndiga, and Juan de la Granja corner Corregidora. After some time, they sold several properties such as Rubén Dario (now the Canadian Embassy), Martí (Hospital of Mexico), Venustiano Carranza 124, Corregidora, and three on Correo Mayor, with an amount of approximately US$20 million, standing today as only four condominiums.
Not everything in the Slim dynasty is money. Julián was something of a bohemian and his interests revolved around somewhat intellectual pursuits; a trait his son also inherited.
In the 1930s, José Helú, the maternal grandfather to Slim, and his cousin Alfredo Harp Helú met with journalists, writers and Lebanese intellects from the vicinity of Mexico City and formed the Literary League. Their gatherings, which Julián frequented, were held in members’ homes or cafés. One favored meeting spot, the home of Antonio Letayf, had a vast library that boasted books on many themes in a multitude of languages that scholars and friends alike could consult.
The Literary League was formed by José Helú, Antonio Letayf, Nasre Ganem, Leonardo Shafick Kaim, Nacif Fadl, Salim Bacha, Anuar Merhy and William Jammal. The members would often invite other poets and writers as guests.
Those were the bohemian days in Mexico City when intellectual groups of all literary and political streams made up of Mexicans and immigrants from several countries, made it fashionable to frequent places like the opera, the Paris Café, the Regis, the Tupinamba and the Campoamor. In these places, cultural figures like José Gaos, León Felipe, Antonio Helú, Mauricio Magdaleno, Jaime Torres Bodet, Salvador Novo, Hugo Thilgman, Tufic Sayeg Frederico Heuer, the poet Antonio González Mora, brothers Gabriel and Armando Villagrán, among many others, would come together and talk about a plethora of things from boxing to philosopher and politician José Vasconcelos.
Antonio Helú, son of José Helú and uncle to Carlos Slim, was an accomplished writer, film director and a pioneer in the policiaca narrative, detective stories. He gained notoriety with one of his novels, The Necessity to Murder. He came to be a figure in the Queen’s Quorum by Ellery Queen, one of the most important detective series ever.
A tireless promoter of culture, Antonio Helú founded the journal Policromías, a student publication in which the first verses of Jaime Torres Bodet, Salvador Novo, Xavier Villaurrutia and Pellicer were released. Antonio Helú launched three editions: a literary monthly, one weekly edition on combat, and a bi-weekly cartoon, which started the careers of Hugo Thilgman and Miguel Covarrubias.
Years later, one of Antonio Helú’s works, The Crime of Insurgencies was brought to The ater by a group called The Mysterious Company, which boasted such names as Andrea Palma, Villarías, José Luis Jiménez and Juan José Martínez Casado.
These were the times when the Lebanese in Mexico had a significant presence in the life of the country. The cultural, political and intellectual atmosphere enveloped society. They were complemented by a world of entertainment: actors such as Joaquín Pardavé and Sara García starred in stories about how Lebanese families settled in the country. Pardavé played Khalil the harbano, and lit up the stage with performances that were presented in the Principal Theater or the Lírico, where the Mexican comedian Leopoldo the Cautezón Beristáin brought in the laughs alongside Lupe Rivas Cacho, the Pingüica, Roberto the Panzón Soto, Celia Montalván, María Concesa and Herminia Quiles.
In 1940, the year Carlos Slim Helú was born, the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico City. Mexico was experiencing incipient political stability: two years earlier, President Lázaro Cárdenas had decreed the expropriation of oil and the country propped up its economy on petroleum. Its exports, however, were boycotted by companies that demanded that their interests be restored. Meanwhile, the rural sector was just emerging from its slumber after a bloody revolution that led to a reform whose motto was, “The land belongs to he who works it.” Between 1934 and 1940, Cárdenas created about 180, 000 suburbs, covering more than twenty million hectares (approximately fifty million acres), benefiting 750 families. Sponsored by the government, the Confederación Nacional Campesina5 (CNC) was formed to give a voice to farmers within the ruling party (Party of the Mexican Revolution), and so began a campaign to integrate the indigenous population from the country.
But Catholic groups and the middle class were disillusioned by President Cárdenas’s radicalism; from this non-conformity was spawned the Partido Revolucionario de Unificación Nacional6 (PRUN) and General Juan Andrew Almazán was nominated as a presidential candidate. As a man of great influence in such an enlightened revolution, the government once again turned conservative. He was stripped of his electoral victory by alleged fraud, which caused a political storm that could have led to a civil war. Finally, in December of 1940, the army, which was loyal to the system and backed Cárdenas, had the power handed to Manuel Ávila Camacho.
A mass exodus of farmers began during the rule of Ávila Camacho as they marched their way into the major cities where better jobs were being offered. Others opted for the United States in order to take advantage of an unspoken, strong-arm program between the US and the Mexican government.
Lebanon achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire on November 22, 1943 when Carlos Slim was three years old. Meanwhile, the Lebanese community was being consolidated in his new homeland. As President Ávila Camacho’s term was coming to an end in 1946, the Mexican and Lebanese government established diplomatic relations.
From his birth in January 1940 until 1953 when his father died, Carlos Slim, along with his siblings, enjoyed a golden childhood.
Slim recalls countless anecdotes that his father left behind and great memories of his everyday life. He remembers daily discussions and lessons his father shared with him and his siblings, hoping their destiny would grant them the same love with which he was blessed.
He explained that from a young age, they had to mature quickly. Even from his student days at prep school, he was very friendly and proved to have a contemplative nature. He liked going out with friends and going to parties, but his life did not revolve around that social environment. He sometimes preferred to stay home on the weekends with his introspective thoughts. He enjoyed analyzing everything that was problematic about his country and all that plagued society.
At seventeen years old, he enrolled at the National Autonomous University (UNAM) of Mexico to pursue a career in engineering. Before concluding his own studies, he taught algebra at UNAM.
In 1963, at the age of twenty-three, he graduated with his thesis: Applications of Linear Programming in Civil Engineering (his chosen area of study earned him the life-long nickname of “the engineer”). In 1962, he took a course in Economic Development and Evaluation of Projects. Later, he traveled abroad to further his studies and specialize in industrial programming at the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning in Santiago, Chile.
In the sixties, for the vast majority of young entrepreneurs and intellectuals, Paris was seen as the place to be. But for Slim, Mexico was the land of opportunity. The time was called “stabilizing development,” an epoch that some political economists qualified as the “Mexican Miracle.” The economy was governed by a stabilizing of prices and the GDP grew at an annual rate of six percent. The model was not magic; it was a tight economic strategy with the central goal of maintaining exchange-rate stability above all, thereby preventing the devaluation pressures from openly manifesting. Thus, curbing inflationary pressures and seeking stability in the balance of payments were converted into central policies. This led to a sacrifice of wages and higher goals for social development. In fact, it was a time of growing poverty.
In short, the transition from an agricultural and rural country to one that was urban and industrial lapsed over fifty years. From 1933 to 1982, the economy grew to 6.8 percent, on average.
However, Slim found success in the business world, working in the housing industry with a company that specialized in real estate. Even then, he caused a stir with his administrative capacity and strategic genius.
During his first steps as a businessman, he married the love of his life Soumaya Domit Gemayel. The priest who officiated at the marriage ceremony was Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ.
Soumaya, daughter of Antonio Domit Dib and Lili Gemayel, was born in Mexico in 1948. From a young age, she dedicated herself to charitable causes. She supported her husband in good times and bad.
Of Lebanese descent, Domit Dib was a Bechele native. He was adorned with the title Orden del Cedro7 by the government of Lebanon. He promoted the footwear industry in Mexico and for years was president of the National Chamber of the Footwear Industry.
Soumaya’s mother, Lili Gemayel, belonged to a prominent family of politicians in her country. Soumaya’s uncle Amin Gemayel was president of Lebanon.
When they married in 1966, Carlos Slim was given a gift by Soumaya’s mother of one million dollars, with which he bought land in Polanco. The custom in the Lebanese community was to build a house for the new family, but the new couple decided to construct a building in its place. They lived in an apartment and rented the empty rooms. Among the tenants was Slim’s lifelong friend, Ignacio Cobo.
In their home on Bernard Shaw Road, the newlyweds Slim-Domit divided the work according to conventional roles. Soumaya was devoted to raising their six children, Carlos, Marco Antonio, Patricio and Soumaya, Vanessa and Johanna. Meanwhile, Slim went to work on the trading floor of the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores8 (BMV), in an old building on Uruguay Street.
At that time, Slim spent his days with a group of casabolsero, or friends. Since his youth, Slim associated with the group referred to as the Generation 29 that included Luis Rosenfeld and Doro Pérez. After a hectic day, they would gather to play dominoes, and the evenings resembled that of the bohemian brotherhood. Slim listened attentively to the teachings of a sophisticated Rosenfeld and the great conversationalist Doro Perez. Those who caught his interest were Jorge de León Portilla, brother of the historian Miguel León Portilla, Xavier de la Barra, Aldo Olivieri, Rafael Morales Blumenkron, Silvino Aranda, Antonio López Velasco, Edward Watson, and Jorge Caso Brecht; all men who were clever and bright.
As adults, they spent all morning on the trading floor, at lunch they played dominoes in one of the bars downtown, and in the evening, they did clerical work involving financial and security investments. Carlos and Soumaya would occasionally host his friends with whom they would spend pleasant evenings playing guitar, after having sent the children to bed. Back then, others who came to join in the domino games with Slim included Ernesto Riveroll, Luis Madrigal, Enrique Trigueros, Ignacio Haro and Silviano Valdés.
In those years, Slim founded Inversora Bursátil. In 1967, he employed his cousin Alfredo Harp Helú, who was an accountant at Price Waterhouse. Three years later, in 1970, Slim employed Roberto Olivieri and Roberto Hernández Ramírez.
When Slim would finish his work at around ten o’clock at night, he went home to be with his family. Everyone would gather in the kitchen as they all got back from their various activities. Together with their children, they prepared dinner and talked about what happened during the day. Sometimes, the couple went out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary or other such events. This was the routine until Soumaya Domit’s death on March 7, 1999.
During Soumaya’s battle with chronic kidney failure, Slim studied the disease until he had amassed knowledge that rivaled her doctors’. When the doctors came to see her, he was well versed in Therapeutic methods they should employ to ease her suffering.
In 1992, when Slim was not yet known as King Midas, but was already established as one of the richest and most powerful men in Mexico, he faced severe health problems. In December of that year, Slim underwent emergency cardiovascular surgery in Mexico City and went to recuperate in Acapulco. When he was admitted to the hospital, he registered under the name Delgado9 to avoid any harassment from the media. He was still not feeling very well after being released. As he came to learn, he was given excessive amounts of anticoagulants that would not allow the surgery wounds to heal. After spending Christmas with family in Mexico City, he spent New Year’s Eve in Acapulco. While there, his health faltered once more. Acting swiftly, his daughter Johanna rented a plane to take him to an emergency room in Mexico and then on to Houston the next day where he was hospitalized. There, a team of specialists used a syringe to draw blood that had forcefully invaded his heart. Within hours, he was at ease.
The two eminent physicians who cared for Slim’s health were Dr. Michael Duncan and Dr. Victor Letayf. Latayf is a disciple of the celebrated surgeon Rafael Muñoz Kapellmann, one of the glories of Mexican medicine who pioneered the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition.
Though Slim soon recovered enough to begin directing his empire once again, five years later he checked himself into the a “clarification” to their subscribers, admitting their mistake. But it was already too late. The Grupo Carso stock had fallen 6.5 percent and Telmex fell 3.35 percent.
The false news spread to New York, but the executives of Grupo Carso stopped speculation effectively when they announced that Slim had undergone cardiovascular surgery.
Although there had been a risk of pneumonia during his convalescence, the danger had passed and within a couple of weeks, he returned to work. He lost twenty-three kilos (fifty pounds), but fought very hard to get back to good physical health. Notwithstanding his health conditions, Slim was aware of everything that was going on in his business and communicated with his inner circle.
Being on the brink of death made him reconsider his own personal and discreet style of doing business. Health restored, Carlos Slim reconvened with his staff to announce changes in the direction of his companies. He put his sons and sons-in-law in charge, but stayed on as honorary president for life. He would continue to make strategic decisions for Carso and would maintain his presidency as chairman of the board of directors for Telmex, Carso Global Telcom and Grupo Financiero Inbursa.
While the decision to change directions was made even before his surgery, it wasn’t implemented until November 1998. His eldest son, Carlos Slim Domit, came to occupy the position of general director of Grupo Carso and Grupo Sanborns. Patricio Slim Domit was assigned to be general director of Condumex-Nacobre and all manufacturing and industrial activities derived from these companies. Marco Antonio Slim Domit was placed at the head of Grupo Financiero Inbursa and its subsidiaries. Jaime Chico Pardo hospital for an aortic aneurysm.
In October of 1997, he underwent an operation to change his aorta where the hemorrhaging had occurred by removing the stitching that had originally been placed to patch it up. Many pints of blood were transfused and one doctor even left the operating room to announce Slim’s death. Slim was in fact alive and after a miraculous three-and-a-half-month recovery, he was released, but not before replacing the doctors who had treated him. However, a series of rumors had already been set in motion: “Carlos Slim is dead.”
Thus, the issue caused a stir in financial circles. Before eight a.m. on Wednesday, November 12, 1997, brokerage firm executives met to discuss the information they had read in the newspapers. Nervousness was felt all around, but they tried to ward off consultations and various phone calls, which only further fed the rumors. There was a great deal of confusion. Was Slim really dead?
That was the news reported in Fin Fax, an exclusive service that provided news summaries by fax from the newspaper El Financiero. The service began distribution to subscribers at six o’clock in the morning.
Senior officials of Grupo Carso and Teléfonos de México were unprepared and therefore, reacted with delay. They did not know how to stop the rumors. They began making phone calls to hundreds of brokerage firms and the media to clarify that the tycoon was recovering from his surgery and would be back at work in no time.
By noon, the directors of El Financiero were forced to send was placed at the head of Telmex with Slim’s son-in-law, Arturo Elias Ayub, as advisor to the general director of Mexico. Ayub had previously been the chairman of the board of directors of T1msn. In 1995, Daniel Hajj, another of Slim’s sons-in-law, was named CEO of the powerful cell phone company Telcel.
Daniel Hajj is exceptional because not only was he one of the craftsmen of the telecommunication giant América Móvil, but he is also the most important one. A golf aficionado, Hajj ran the company much like he played the game: with extreme attention and accuracy placed in the details. Under Hajj’s guidance, América Móvil went from a mere one million subscribers to approximately ten million customers in just three years. Thanks to his vision, today eight out of ten new customers in most Latin American countries are with América Móvil.
Due to his excellent results, Slim’s son-in-law was designated “El Hombre Expansión10” in 2007 by the magazine Expansión, which specializes in business and investments.
The last Slim son-in-law, the internationally renowned architect Fernando Romero Havaux, son of Raúl Romero Zenizo and María Cristina Havaux, married Soumaya Slim Domit on July 7, 2000. By the time of their marriage, Slim’s daughter had become an art historian while Romero Havaux’s professional experience included projects in the office of Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was he who was responsible for drafting the new Museo Soumaya in northern Mexico City, where the dominating Group Carso cooperative would eventually exist.
Having already determined the allocation of his empire by way of inheritance, the best advice tycoon Slim has given his children was “not to mix business with politics.” This was confided to journalist Rossana Fuentes Berain in an interview he had given on the same day that Raúl Salinas de Gortari was arrested for allegedly masterminding the murder of his brother-in-law José Francisco Ruiz Massieu.
Fuentes Berain relates this anecdote:
In the Grupo Carso boardroom (a name resulting from the combination of and Soumaya), Slim Helú, the richest man in Latin America, talked with me while smoking, on February 25, 1995. We were talking about the devaluation of the Mexican peso, which occurred a few weeks earlier, when we were interrupted by Arnulfo, one of his personal assistants, who gave Slim a note: they had arrested Raúl Salinas de Gortari.
We sat in front of the TV and, remote control in hand, Slim tried unsuccessfully to find the signal. He turned up the volume instead of changing the channel, turned it off, and then turned it on again.
Finally, Arnulfo took control. He changed the satellite station and found what he was looking for: a special channel, unlike commercial television or cable. The black-and-white image was shocking: in a suit, without handcuffs, but with hands tucked behind his back, Raúl was being led into a car by men carrying guns.
That was the beginning of the end for the awkward brother, “Mister Ten Percent” as he was known in both Mexican and international business circles for the amount charged to conduct business during the term of his brother Carlos Salinas.
“That is why I always tell my kids not to mix business with politics,” Slim mumbled through his teeth, wonder and surprise visibly marked his face.
Slim has said that his children have been “vaccinated” against the temptations of political power. None of his three male heirs has expressed a political inclination, although they have argued over the change of regime. Carlos Slim Domit, the eldest of the brothers, considered that the change in power of the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) for the PAN (National Action Party) has shown no major differences in the proposals for the economic state. The second of the heirs, Marco Antonio, feels the change will interrupt the inertia already at work. He further believes that this is part of a global trend. Patricio, the youngest of the boys, argues that change in regime is most feasible.
As part of the empire forged by their father, the Slim-Domit brothers have several things in common: they are charismatic and sociable and there is no rivalry between them. The three say they are complementary and that is what makes them successful.
“If my children wanted to be boxers or athletes, they would’ve competed against each other,” Slim said. “But in my opinion, in order to pursue and achieve happiness, one should not have to compete against anyone in your own company.”
Carlos, the eldest of the brothers, is a loving and respectful son, loyal to those closest to him. When Patricio needed a kidney, he did not hesitate to donate his.
Indeed, if anything can be said without a doubt, it is that Slim is a man of principle. In his heirs, he has instilled honesty, patience, discipline, flexibility, courage, confidence and strength of character.
According to Slim, his legacy is genetic. “I think we all have vocations. There are some who are meant to be bullfighters, others are meant to be priests, doctors, and journalists. For me, since childhood, I liked investments.”
After the transition of handing over the entrepreneurial conglomerate to the second generation, the structure of the empire still seems to be intact.
His children are pragmatic and astute in business and although they now exercise control over select companies in the group, there are still plenty of opportunities for everyone. There are executives not related to the family who have climbed to the top as well as family members who do not participate in the business simply because they are not interested. The Slim-Domit brothers work harder than anyone. Perhaps Daniel Hajj, senior executive of América Móvil, most personifies the tirelessly industrious spirit of the company, as he is one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave.
Unlike other rich and powerful families who were forced into a generational takeover or who hired professional executives rather than divide the company amongst children and relatives, Carlos, Marco and Patricio have held key positions in the corporate structure for many years. Since an early age, they had been gradually preparing to take hold of the reins of the business.
When his children were teenagers, Carlos Slim would gather everyone in the library to teach them lessons in economics. He would present them with handwritten lists of examples such as how a Mexican insurance company sells policies at lower rates than an American company, or he would compare the drastic devaluation of Mexican manufacturers of sweets and cigarettes compared to European manufacturers.
In the early eighties, Slim used to take his firstborn to the Stock Exchange. “My father always included us in his business ventures,” recalled Carlos Slim Domit. “He talked to us about the problems within his companies and he told us about the solutions. It is a process we have been involved in for many years.”
Communication amongst the Slim family is common. For example, a few weeks before closing the tender offer for Telmex, Slim made a commitment to his six children (Carlos, Marco Antonio, Patricio, Soumaya, Vanessa and Johanna) that if the deal he was about to make succeeded, the phone company would remain in family hands for at least the next two generations.
Carlos Slim Domit spoke about the fifteen years following the privatization of Telmex in a magazine interview for Líderes in which he confirmed his commitment.
“Telmex is an extremely valuable company for the country,” he said. “It is a company of top priority for the nation; a strategic support for the nation. It is important that it remain Mexican. These are not guidelines, but rather convictions, because commitment comes from outside and conviction comes from within. It is more a conviction than a commitment.”
Carlos runs the Grupo Carso. He began working with his father at a young age and like the other two heirs, he studied business administration at the Universidad Anáhuac. All three are aware that an enormous responsibility falls on their shoulders. Marco Antonio has a passion for mathematics and is regarded as the financier of the family. He runs Grupo Financiero Inbursa, one of the top-tier companies in the country for management with assets over US$18 billion. Patricio, the youngest of the house, works with his brother-in-law Daniel Hajj at América Móvil. Since he became president of the company, its value has more than tripled. It is one of the main sources of the family’s wealth.
Slim’s decision to entrust the success of his businesses to his children must have been a weighty decision for the young trio. At first, they were subject to much criticism, but what can now be said with certainty is that the heirs have continued to expand the business. Since the late nineties, the heads of the companies had been preparing for the oncoming shift in power that would lie with the men of the family.
Since then, the heirs have not been without criticism. “I think sometimes, when you succeed in business, you have others trying to turn public opinion against you, because they’re trying to compete with you,” Carlos Slim Domit said.
However, one of Slim’s most valuable insights was to share the company with business advisors and board members, including family members, who are integrated in different sectors of the company. It is with this insight that he has achieved flexibility, delegation, continuity and expansion.
To explain why the company was being transitioned from his hands to those of his sons, the tycoon once told a reporter, “These are not positions that my sons simply earned by being my children. In baseball, what do you do when you are throwing the ball to your son? Do you strike him out? And if you are pitching and your father or brother is at bat, what do you do? It is a matter of responsibility. In each instance, if you have the responsibility of being at bat, you always try to hit a homerun, no matter who is pitching. I think there are major problems that arise when you hand over high positions, or companies even, to your children simply because they are your children. A son should not feel obliged to enter into a business that he has no interest in; one he hasn’t a taste for, a talent for, or strength in.”
Carlos Slim Domit was trained in all areas of his father’s business. He was groomed and raised in the area of financial operations of Inbursa and became involved in the hotel business, paper mills, the Sanborns chain stores, and Telmex.
“I don’t think people noticed the transition much,” Carlos explained. “My father’s style of leadership is very similar to my own. My priority has always been to preserve Grupo Carso’s values. The transition was very normal. For example, my biggest concern is that people feel good about what they do and that there is proper communication between all areas. This helps us to constantly evaluate the process and to know, with exact science, all of the potential successes and failures of each investment.”
The Slim-Domit family has managed to win the respect of critics who are skeptical about their ability. The three brothers have given ample proof of their leadership and they know that they have the responsibility to set in motion a new phase of their father’s dynasty.
Carlos Slim Domit remembers his father’s teachings.
“Our philosophy is based on a few basic principles: to have an efficient and productive operation in addition to financial soundness,” he said. “We do a lot on the financial side, especially when we are doing very well, which is normally when companies go soft and make bad investments or when bad decisions tend to be made.”
When families work together daily, they deal with one another in an informal manner. In the Slim family, they all know that they can count on each person to meet their responsibilities. It is understood that they have the fate of hundreds of thousands of families in their hands. They respect their positions and accept the weight on their shoulders.
Carlos Slim Domit has stated that his father has never once pressured them to work for him, nor has he ever told them what they should do.
“We have always had the liberty to study whatever we wanted, to study or even not to study, to work or not to work with the group, and to do other things,” he said. “Moreover, what my parents taught us is to do the things we like and to do them responsibly; not just for ambition, but for inspiration. My dad said that the worst thing to do is something you don’t love. It hurts you and it ends up hurting the company. If you don’t feel like you are doing something you love or working in a place that stimulates and challenges you, then you are better off dedicating yourself to something else.”
The Slim heirs obtained a formal education in business administration in Mexico. There has never been an effort to reassure stock analysts by recruiting managers trained in the United States.
Patricio, a fighting-bull breeder and the youngest of the clan, remembers his mother’s strong relationships and respect for others. She had a deep concern for people. From his father, he inherited a strong sense of honesty and a desire to work hard. “A friend once asked me, ‘what did your father demand most from you?’ It was honesty,” Patricio said.
Slim’s daughters, Soumaya, Vanesa and Johanna, have followed in their mother’s footsteps in taking care of their own families and immersing themselves into cultural arenas, both altruistic and philanthropic. Two of the sisters are part of the board on the foundation; one runs Museo Soumaya while the other runs a foundation called Asociación de Superación por México11 (ASUME), which specializes in personal development and self-improvement. Another sister heads up a program called Programa de Educación (Educational Program) in which kids learn to swim from a young age as part of a program to develop and stimulate physical activity.
In total so far, the tycoon has nearly two-dozen grandchildren. Slim gets together with all of his children and grandchildren on weekends.
During one of his regular lectures, a university student asked him, “What legacy will you leave your children?” The tycoon answered: “Someone asked me one day if I was going to leave money to my sons. I believe that when you leave them a company, you leave them work, responsibility and commitment. But when you leave them money—a hundred, fifty, thirty or twenty million—you leave that for them to be bums, right? It is different because when you have a company that you have to manage, even if there is a CEO, it is a job, a responsibility, an effort and a commitment to the company, to yourself and to the country, to generate wealth. The issue is not to have cash to spend and just idle for the rest of your life, the importance lies in continuity which requires commitment.”
Slim has taught his children to be responsible. “We have to do things throughout our lifetime that make us efficient, careful and responsible. We must be smart about the way we manage our wealth,” he said. “Many people want to leave a better country for their children; I try to leave better children for my country.”
When asked how he would like to be remembered, Slim said that he tries not to think about that.
“What worries me is the future of my family, my children and my grandchildren. I hope they stay close, they continue to love each other, and they stay positive and optimistic for themselves and for their country,” he said. “That is my primary concern. I don’t concern myself with how I will be remembered, or if I will be remembered. My family and friends will remember me fondly.”
Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patricio are the modern heirs of King Midas. Slim bet on his future and has put his children in contact with such men as the futurist Alvin Toffler and media technology professor Nicholas Negroponte. In 1985, Negroponte founded Media Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is a center for unique research in the world. The laboratory coordinates and manages millions of dollars that companies invest in each year in order to create better communication for the future. Both of these men have been specifically invited to Slim’s house to discuss future business and to prepare his heirs for long-term projects, several of which they have already begun to develop in Latin America.