#1 Carlos Slim Helu - $53.5 billion

Carlos Slim Helú (born January 28, 1940 in Mexico City) is Latin America's richest man (and #2 in the world) according to Forbes. His wealth comes from his businesses in the communications industry, Teléfonos de México, Altria Group (Previously Philip Morris, Director), Telcel and América Móvil telecommunication companies. Though he maintains an active involvement in his companies, his three sons Carlos, Marco Antonio and Patrick Slim Domit head them.

His father was Julián Slim Haddad
(Yusef Salim Haddad), a Lebanese Maronite Christian, who as a teenager fled to Mexico in 1902, escaping the harsh military rule of the Ottoman Turks. His father and two of his older brothers arrived at the Mexican port of Tampico, making their way to Mexico City.

In 1911, Julian established a dry goods store called La Estrella del Oriente and took a gamble and bought up some prime real estate in the city core - a shrewd move, as it turned out.
Slim Haddad married Linda Helu, daughter of another prosperous Lebanese merchant, and had six children. Carlos Slim Helu was the fifth of the six children. Carlos credits his father as his mentor in business, retailing and finance. Julian Slim Haddad died in 1952, leaving his family a moderately prosperous economic base from which Carlos launched his successful financial career.

The Mexican communications industry and other interests have been kind to Carlos Slim, to say the least. It’s said that between 2005 and 2007, Slim’s worth has doubled. In that period, his fortune grew around $27 million -- daily. The reason is simple: he owns everything in Mexico. Over 200 companies are under his thumb, ranging from the aforementioned telecom to transportation, and from cigarettes to soft drinks. He’s dismissed the title of “world’s richest man” with indifference, claiming that designation isn’t his kind of competition. Whether he wants it or not, he has been designated as one of the world’s richest men of all time.