Carlos Slim Helú (born January 28, 1940 in Mexico City) is a Mexican businessman. He was the richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013. He owns the Mexican phone company Telmex, which provides a telephone service to most Mexicans. After graduating, Slim expanded on his father's ownings of real estate in Mexico City. By age 26, he was worth $40 million. During the 1980s and 1990s, Slim bought several companies that were bankrupt or being privatized. Slim owns about 7% of the "New York Times". He is now worth $60 billion. Slim's maternal grandparents and his father were from Lebanon. In 2017, According to Forbes Carlos Slim is the world’s fifth richest person.