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Worldâ€™s wealthiest man has Turkish origin

13 March 2010 13:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The worldâ€™s wealthiest man Carlos Slim, who left Microsoft founder Bill Gates behind with a net worth of around US$53.5 billion through his holdings, has Turkish origin, APA reports quoting the Turkish newspapers. Mexican telecommunication tycoon Carlos Slim HelÃº, who was declared by Forbes at the wealthiest man of the world this year, had very interesting facts regarding his origin.
Slim was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His father, JuliÃ¡n Slim Haddad, or Yusif Selim Hattat Aglamaz, arrived in Mexico in 1902 from Lebanon, alone at 14 years of age and speaking no Spanish; he was escaping from the Ottoman Empire, which at the time conscripted young men into its army â€“ mothers therefore sent their sons to exile before turning fifteen. Carlos Slim’s mother, Linda HelÃº was born in Parral, Chihuahua; she was the daughter of JosÃ© HelÃº Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century, brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico, and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. In 1911, JuliÃ¡n established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente (The Star of the Orient) and purchased real estate in downtown Mexico City. In August 1926, JuliÃ¡n Slim and Linda HelÃº married in Mexico City; they had six children, of whom Carlos was the youngest boy.
Slim studied engineering at the Universidad Nacional AutÃ³noma de MÃ©xico. By the time he was 26 years old, his net worth was $40 million. He married Soumaya Domit Gemayel, so a Lebanese-Mexican, in 1967; they had six children and were married for 32 years until Domit died of a kidney ailment in 1999.