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Mexico's Slim, No. 2 in Fat City
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Instead, a group led by Slim that included France Telecom and Southwestern Bell -- friendly with privatizing Mexican President Carlos Salinas -- won Telmex and gained control of the Mexican phone market.
Unsurprisingly, phone bills shot up. A number of studies have shown that Mexican phone rates have been higher, on average, than those in other Latin American countries, largely thanks to the nation's looser regulatory environment, U.S. telecom lawyers say.
Slim's business, politics and friendships sometimes are difficult to separate. He is courted by Latin American politicians for his ability to sink wealth into investments. When Panamanian President Martín Torrijos could not book a flight to attend the Vatican funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Slim lent him his private jet.
On occasion, Slim likes to summon foreign reporters to his grand office in Mexico City, which features antique European furniture purchased from a Sotheby's auction house.
At one such gathering, Slim was asked by a journalist who recently arrived from Argentina why his phone bills were so much higher in Mexico.
Slim's manner of answering most questions, according to a reporter at the meeting, was to gesture to an assistant -- one of his sons or sons-in-law -- who would then produce a thick report on the topic. Pummeled by a dizzying array of numbers, the Argentine journalist tried again: Why is my phone bill so high? Slim's eventual answer: You're reading your bill wrong.
Slim has numerous personal and business ties to the United States. He and first lady Laura Bush were guests at the 2005 wedding of U.S. ambassador Antonio O. "Tony" Garza Jr. and Corona Beer heiress María Asunción Aramburuzabala Larregui in Mexico.
At one time, Slim was the largest shareholder of the former MCI. He sold his holdings to Verizon Communications for $1.1 billion in 2005. He owns the struggling CompUSA, served on the board of Philip Morris USA parent Altria Group and bought shares in Apple as far back as 1997.
In late March, Slim's Móvil bought Verizon's stake in a Puerto Rican cellphone firm for $1.7 billion. Slim is exploring a joint venture in Italy with AT&T, which also has a stake in Móvil. This year, Móvil passed Brazil's Petrobras as Latin America's biggest company by value.
Slim developed his nose for business early. As a 12-year-old, according to press accounts, he maintained a list of his investments.
