# Carlos Slim: The Numbers Genius Who Built an Empire

An episode of [Great Business Stories](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1728626597), 8 Jul 2026, 31 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/f62e45f4/podcast/play/122338351/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-6-3%2F7385c343-e716-f70a-880f-b9c6467a14e1.mp3

This is a guy whose father fled Lebanon with almost nothing and today is worth $120 billion. I examine how he built his fortune buying up distressed businesses during Mexico's economic collapse of the 1980s, and how a controversial privatisation deal for the national phone company turned him into the richest man in the world. I also look at the huge criticism he's faced for monopolistic practices that cost ordinary Mexicans billions and also held back the development of an entire country, and how he's used that fortune combined with this intrinsic and intangible gift for numbers to make savvy investments in everything from Apple to the New York Times. It's a cracking story — enjoy.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.