Some facts about Mexico billionaire Carlos Slim
(Reuters) - Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim is raising his stake in The New York Times Co (NYT.N) in a transaction aimed at providing the troubled newspaper publisher with cash to meet looming debt payments.
Here are some facts about the entrepreneur:
* Carlos Slim was born in Mexico in 1940, the son of a Lebanese immigrant who built a small fortune by purchasing properties cheaply during the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolution and running the "Star of the Orient" general store.
* Slim is the world's second-richest man with a fortune worth $60 billion, behind U.S. financier Warren Buffett and ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to Forbes magazine.
* A former stock market trader, Slim's trademark in Mexico is his "Midas" business touch, buying up struggling companies on the cheap and turning them into profitable cash cows.
* Slim's empire in Mexico is so vast that critics say it is hard to get through a day without spending a peso at one of his businesses. He controls dominant telecoms companies Telmex and America Movil, as well as retail stores, a restaurant chain and an industrial conglomerate.
* Slim eschews private jets, yachts and other executive trappings. He has lived in the same house for more than 30 years and drives his own aging Mercedes Benz -- with SUVs carrying bodyguards in tow.
* He is an engineer by profession, graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and is a die-hard fan of the college's soccer team, Pumas.
* In recent years he has devoted part of his fortune to charitable work, focusing on medical treatments and sports centers for people in poor areas. He has also made donations to former U.S. President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation.
* Cigar-smoking Slim is an avid art collector. He is believed to own the largest number of sculptures by artist Auguste Rodin outside France. One of his daughters runs the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, named after his late wife.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
(Reuters) - Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim is raising his stake in The New York Times Co (NYT.N) in a transaction aimed at providing the troubled newspaper publisher with cash to meet looming debt payments.
Here are some facts about the entrepreneur:
* Carlos Slim was born in Mexico in 1940, the son of a Lebanese immigrant who built a small fortune by purchasing properties cheaply during the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolution and running the "Star of the Orient" general store.
* Slim is the world's second-richest man with a fortune worth $60 billion, behind U.S. financier Warren Buffett and ahead of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to Forbes magazine.
* A former stock market trader, Slim's trademark in Mexico is his "Midas" business touch, buying up struggling companies on the cheap and turning them into profitable cash cows.
* Slim's empire in Mexico is so vast that critics say it is hard to get through a day without spending a peso at one of his businesses. He controls dominant telecoms companies Telmex and America Movil, as well as retail stores, a restaurant chain and an industrial conglomerate.
* Slim eschews private jets, yachts and other executive trappings. He has lived in the same house for more than 30 years and drives his own aging Mercedes Benz -- with SUVs carrying bodyguards in tow.
* He is an engineer by profession, graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and is a die-hard fan of the college's soccer team, Pumas.
* In recent years he has devoted part of his fortune to charitable work, focusing on medical treatments and sports centers for people in poor areas. He has also made donations to former U.S. President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation.
* Cigar-smoking Slim is an avid art collector. He is believed to own the largest number of sculptures by artist Auguste Rodin outside France. One of his daughters runs the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, named after his late wife.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)