subject: Forbes List Of Wealthiest Mexicans [print this page] Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico is in fact the wealthiest person on the planet. He and his family have a net worth of 69 Billion dollars, according to the current Forbes list of billionaires for March 2012. Helu created his own wealth and a major business within the telecommunications field in Mexico; his company providing most ADSL Internet traffic within the region. Whether or not he will continue to top the world's list of billionaires is anybody's guess, but this is the third year that the mogul has placed number one.
The second wealthiest person in Mexico is Ricardo Salinas Pliego, with a net worth of $17.4 billion as of March 2012. Obviously Pliego and his family have considerably less than Helu, but they are still doing very well. Pliego makes his billions in two arenas, the most lucrative of which is Grupo Elektra, a home electronics retailer. In fact, about $15 billion of the family fortune comes from the retail business. The second source of income is TV Azteca, in which Pliego has control.
Alberto Bailleres Gonzales and family are just a few dollars behind Pliego in the wealthy Mexicans standings, reporting a net worth of $16.5 billion. Precious metals were the key source of wealth for the Gonzalez family. They run the second largest mining company in the world and the largest silver mine. A lot of profit has been made by the company of late, as it's large gold holdings have steadily increased in value, along with the price surge in the precious metal.
Number four on Forbes list of wealthiest Mexicans is rather media shy. He enjoys working from his office and isn't seen out in the community promoting his interests too much. However, if your net worth is $14.2 billion, you have carte blanche. German Larrea Mota Velasco and family have made their money in the copper mining industry, and their mine is indeed the largest producer in the world.
Jeronimo Arango is the fifth wealthiest Mexican, according to Forbes list (March 2012). His net worth sits at a seemingly small $4 billion when compared to the top four in this list, but Arango and his family are definitely well provided for. The Mexican retailer Cifra was managed by the three Arango brothers and they built it up to rival Walmart. In fact, the brothers sold their interest in Cifra to Wal-Mart in 1997 and became the fifth wealthiest family in Mexico virtually overnight.
