MEXICO CITY –- Investor Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is no longer the second-richest man in the world.
That title now belongs to Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim, said Forbes magazine, which also added that Slim is also closing in on Microsoft chairman and co-founder Bill Gates for the top spot.
In the two months since Forbes calculated its 2007 wealth rankings, Slim’s fortune reportedly increased $4 billion to $53.1 billion. Buffett’s holdings, meanwhile, slipped to $52.4 billion as of March 29.
In Forbes 2007 rankings released March 8, but prepared almost a month earlier, the magazine had listed Slim as the world’s third-richest man and estimated Gates’ fortune at $56 billion.
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Slim owns Mexico’s dominate phone company and has holdings throughout Latin America. According to one news source, he said his vision of a businessman’s role in the world is contrary with Buffett’s.
Slim was quoted as saying, "It’s very interesting, because he (Buffett) leaves those who are running his affairs the responsibility of being very profitable. If they’re inefficient or don’t get real-term returns, they’re not going to be running anything.
He added, "Our concept is more to accomplish and solve things, rather than giving — that is, not going around like Santa Claus. Poverty isn’t solved with donations,” referring to Buffett’s decision last year to donate $1.5 billion every year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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