Total Net Worth:  $67.4 Billion (2012)

Sign: Capricorn

Born in:  Mexico

Marital status:  Married

Occupation:  Chairman & CEO of Telmex

The worlds richest man is concerned with the way world leaders are running things.  With global economic decline and political turmoil rampant, Slim suggests that the way world leaders are look to find solutions are all wrong.  Carlos Slim Helu is an old-school American capitalist—circa late 19 th century—who believes in monopolies, the old industrial factory system, and economies of scale more than innovation and technology.

Carlos Slims father, Julián Slim Haddad, emigrated from Lebanon to Mexico at the age of fourteen.  Along with one of his brothers, Julián opened a dry-goods store in Mexico City.  When foreign investors fled the country following the Revolution of 1910, Julián, however, resolved to remain in Mexico.  By the 1920s, he had acquired a number of businesses and substantial real estate in the capital city.  Julián married Doña Linda Helú, a daughter of Lebanese immigrants.  The couple raised six children, Carlos Slim Helú being the fifth.

This telecom tycoon is often mentioned amongst the likes of Rockefeller, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan; many often refer to him as the Robber Baron of the 21st century.  He is notably the first person from a developing country (Mexico) to have topped the Forbes list.

According to an interview held with Forbes Magazine in 2011, Carlos Slim Helú, an entrepreneur who built his $67 billion fortune in nearly five decades, has some words of advice for political leaders: You’re doing it wrong.  Slim thinks governments should stop trying to shrink budget deficits by shortchanging education.   “I am very concerned about the world in general. I think the solutions that [political leaders] are looking at are not the right solutions,” he says. “They are not looking for a ­different way to solve the problem.”

He is a multi-billionaire, but different: his old-school style appears not only in his business. but also in his life. With his fortune estimated at $67.4 billion, this wealthiest man in the world is a man of taste and class.  Carlos Slim Helu has predilections for classical paintings and sculptures, preferring those by great artists like Rodin, Renoir, Da Vinci and Micheal Angelo.  But, despite being a multi-billionaire with a passion for expensive art, Carlos lives in a modest six-bedroom house one mile away from his office, and three miles away from his childhood home.

He does not believe in conspicuous consumption, and is disinterested in flashy super yachts or palatial houses around the world.  He does not even own a fleet of cars, and still loves to drive himself rather than hire a chauffer.  He is a fan of the Baseball club, New York Yankees,” and unlike the Russian Oligarchs, he is happy being a fan only and does not want to buy it.  He is of Lebanese origin, and, like his fellow Lebanese people, he believes in living a simple family life versus the much-publicized life of American Business Tycoons.  He is a family man and had a successful married life with Soumaya Domit, in whose name he founded the Museu Soumaya Art museum. With increasing age, he has recently given increasing business responsibilities to his three sons and three sons-in-laws.

Bentley Continental Flying Spur ($300,000)

Custom Navy Military Style Mercedes 44 ($100,000)

The Real Estate Portfolio

Lomas de Chapultepec

Built in the 1930’s, the neighborhood houses some of the country’s richest and the most influential personalities.  Lomas is Spanish for hills and has since added glamour to the word, with upscale streets that possess large homes having Lomas in their names.

In spite of being crowned as the richest person in the world, the Mexican business tycoon prefers to stay in the same six-bedroom house in which he has now spent almost forty years.  He moved in the house after his marriage and it is located just three miles from where he was born.

The Duke Semans Mansion

($44 Million) Located at 1009 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York. With the view of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Duke Semans Mansion is one of Fifth Avenue’s last great private residences. The mansion boasts 12 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, a doctor’s office in the basement, and comprises over 19,000 square feet of space on 8 levels.

The interior design of the mansion includes marble flooring, a gothic inspired marquee over its main entrance, and a vintage wooden fireplace. Due to some of artistic beaux arts work on the walls, this mansion is one of the most important examples of Beaux Arts residential architecture in the city.

The Art Collection

Museo Soumaya (Soumaya Museum)

Named after Carlos Slim’s late wife Soumaya Domit, the Museo Soumaya was opened to the public in 2011.  It features around 60,000 works of art by renowned artists like Rodin, Leonardo da Vinci, and other European artists, as well as by Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Carlos Slim spent around $34 million to build this museum while the artwork inside is worth  around $800 million.

The museum’s six exhibit rooms of the museum make it one of the largest in Latin America.  Located in the new Plaza Carso, west of Mexico City, the Soumaya Museum has filled with the purchase of separate art pieces as well as complete collections.  A large percentage of the foreign works were purchased from Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions.

$1 Million Wine Glass Collection

Who knew that wine glass collection could be considered art?  Well this collection is, a twenty-five person  set collection that includes 5 glasses in each set.  All the glasses are Baccarrat hand carved and blown glass.

Auguste Rodin Art

Carlos Slim Helu has 380 of Auguste Rodin’s work in his possession, the largest privately held collection in the world.