Listening to hip hop, one may hear several references to the legendary character, Iceberg Slim. Robert Beck's legendary "career" reached its height in the '70s as Iceberg "pioneered" the Pimp Game. When the pimping was done and Iceberg "squared up", Robert went on to sell over 6 millions copies of his books depicting his life and ascension in the Pimp Game.
Now, let's talk about the real Pimp. Iceberg Slim's Pimp Game pales in comparison to that of Carlos Slim. Carlos' pimp stick is so strong, he recently pimp smacked Bill Gates right off the pedestal as the world's richest man.
Following a surge in America Movil's shares over the second quarter, Slim's fortune has mushroomed to an estimated $67.8B (£33.6B) - 
equivalent to 8% of Mexico's gross domestic product - compared with $59.2B for the Microsoft mogul, putting him in the lead by a decisive $8.6B.
Now, I've always contended that behind every extraordinary fortune, there is a extraordinary crime. Whether we're talking about cotton, railroads, alcohol, diamonds, or corporate productivity software......it doesn't matter. White collar or blue collar crime ......it doesn't matter. To make multi-millions, you need a lot of luck. To make billions, you need more than luck. You need a controlled capitalistic playing field, a.k.a. a perfect monopoly.
What does Carlos Slim own?
- Five insurance companies (valued at $1.5 billion)
- Mexican retail chain (pretax annual profit, $500 million), a mining company, an auto parts manufacturing company, a bank, a tobacco company, oh, and another mining company. All told, Slim's companies account for almost one-half of the value of the Mexican stock exchange
- 4 out of every 5 cell lines and 9 out of every 10 land lines are owned and operated by him
- a budget airline, Volaris
- a cigarette company, Cigatam
- a music retailer, MixUp
- an internet service provider, Prodigy
- piece of Comp USA
- piece of Saks Fifth Avenue
- America Movil group
- Telmex
- Telcel
"If you're a Mexican citizen, Carlos Slim is Microsoft, Apple, Coke, Pepsi and GM all rolled into one. In spite of all of Slim's charitable contributions, Mexico's working class just doesn't trust him."
What's the secret of his success? Carlos started at age 26 with $400,000 and all the ambition in the world. With his family's business relationships and government connections, Carlos was able to buy companies....early.....often and at rock bottom prices. We all know what happens when the privatization process is not so transparent. These deals alone would assist anyone with amassing tremendous wealth in a short period of time. When coupled with remittances, even Bill Gates has to throw in the towel!
I'm not a macro economist, nor do I profess to know the Slim's life story. However, getting income from tax-free US dollars, does add to the leverage. And leverage can give anyone an advantage. Like I said.....you need more than luck to make billions.
Will Carlos be as philanthropic as Gates or Buffett? I have no ideas. I just know that Carlos was quoted saying:"Wealth is like an orchard. You have to share the fruit, not the trees."
For all you conspiracy theorists, here's a YouTube video on Mr. Slim (sorry, it's one of the few videos in English.)
