Mexico's Slim becomes 'world's richest' person, edging out Bill Gates

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Carlos Slim, the son of an immigrant shopkeeper who amassed a $53.5 billion fortune and bought a major stake in The New York Times, became the first person from a developing nation to be named the world's richest person.

Slim, a telecom magnate, edged out U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to earn the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people — the first time a non-American has topped the list since 1994. Gates was second with $53 billion, and Buffet was third with $47 billion.

The jump comes a year after Slim's cellphone holdings rebounded in value.

Slim is known for wearing inexpensive suits and rarely using the computers his companies sell, but owns an impressive art collection. A baseball fan, he limits his indulgences to cigars and diet soft drinks. A civil engineer by training, he has bought up troubled or government-owned firms, fixed them up and resold them for big profits.

"In periods of crisis, he has always invested, and now we are beginning to see the fruits of that," said Arturo Elias Ayub, an executive at Slim's Telmex telephone company and the billionaire's son-in-law.

Forbes' Keren Blankfeld said the top-10 list — which includes two billionaires from India and one from Brazil — reflects Gates' and Buffet's charitable work.