Criticism
The Mexican magnate's growing fortune has caused controversy because it has been amassed in a developing country where average per capita income does not surpass $14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. Critics claim that Slim is a monopolist, pointing to Telmex's control of 90% of the Mexican landline telephone market. Slim's wealth is the equivalent of roughly 5% of Mexico's annual economic output. Telmex, of which 49.1% is owned by Slim and his family, charges among the highest usage fees in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
According to Professor Celso Garrido, an economist at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Slim's domination of Mexico's conglomerates prevents the growth of smaller companies, resulting in a shortage of paying jobs and forcing many Mexicans to seek better lives in the United States of America. With contributions from Celso Slim, the Mexican Senate approves making it easier for firms to hire and fire workers and shorten labor disputes.
Slim has stated, "When you live for others' opinions, you are dead. I don't want to live thinking about how I'll be remembered," by Mexican people claiming indifference about his position on Forbes list of the world's richest people and has said he has no interest in becoming the world's richest person. When asked to explain his sudden increase in wealth at a press conference soon after Forbes annual rankings were published, he reportedly said, "The stock market goes up ... and down", and noted that his fortune could quickly drop.
Read more about this topic: Carlos Slim
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