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It's interesting how the richest man in the world comes from a third world country (Carlos Slim from Mexico).

by elboru 14y ago

civilian 14y ago
I was going to question whether Mexico is a third world country but I did some googling and yeah, I guess that's an okay assessment. But I think the term "developing country" would be more appropriate. I think Mexico can be more easily grouped with the BRIC countries, rather than, say, Kenya and Cambodia. I guess the only point I really want to make is that naming and labeling is a difficult problem, even outside of computer science.
- elboru 14y ago
  Well, yeah you're right Mexico is supposed to be the 8th economy by 2050, acording to HSBC, Mexico will be above France, Canada, Italy, Turkey and S.Korea http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/worlds-top-economies-in-2050-will-be/ http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/worlds-top-economie...
pm90 14y ago
Is it really? Asif Zardari, the president of Pakistan, is estimated to have $1.8 billions. There was a recent uproar in India about some people storing billions in foreign banks etc. Point is: if you redirect money from where it was intended to be, you can make a lot of money. Especially in 3rd world countries where systems to keep this behavior in check are too weak or non-existent. (I don't know how Mr.Slim made his money though; I'm commenting more on the surprise for billionaire's from 3rd world countries)
- nwzpaperman 14y ago
  slim has a monopoly on the mexico mobile communications industry.
DavidAdams 14y ago
One of the reasons that many developing countries such as Mexico have a hard time developing a robust economy and a strong middle class is precisely because their wealth is concentrated in an oligopoly made up of a handful of powerful families who wield vast political and economic power. You'll see this all across Latin America, and in most other parts of the world. Also, as you can see from the Russian billionaires on the list, many influential people have made vast fortunes when state-owned monopolies were "privatized" and became privately-owned monopolies.

It's interesting how the richest man in the world comes from a third world country (Carlos Slim from Mexico).

by elboru 14y ago

It's interesting how the richest man in the world comes from a third world country (Carlos Slim from Mexico).

I was going to question whether Mexico is a third world country but I did some googling and yeah, I guess that's an okay assessment. But I think the term "developing country" would be more appropriate. I think Mexico can be more easily grouped with the BRIC countries, rather than, say, Kenya and Cambodia. I guess the only point I really want to make is that naming and labeling is a difficult problem, even outside of computer science.

elboru 14y ago
Well, yeah you're right Mexico is supposed to be the 8th economy by 2050, acording to HSBC, Mexico will be above France, Canada, Italy, Turkey and S.Korea http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/worlds-top-economies-in-2050-will-be/ http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/12/worlds-top-economie...

pm90 14y ago

Is it really? Asif Zardari, the president of Pakistan, is estimated to have $1.8 billions. There was a recent uproar in India about some people storing billions in foreign banks etc. Point is: if you redirect money from where it was intended to be, you can make a lot of money. Especially in 3rd world countries where systems to keep this behavior in check are too weak or non-existent. (I don't know how Mr.Slim made his money though; I'm commenting more on the surprise for billionaire's from 3rd world countries)

nwzpaperman 14y ago
slim has a monopoly on the mexico mobile communications industry.

DavidAdams 14y ago

One of the reasons that many developing countries such as Mexico have a hard time developing a robust economy and a strong middle class is precisely because their wealth is concentrated in an oligopoly made up of a handful of powerful families who wield vast political and economic power. You'll see this all across Latin America, and in most other parts of the world. Also, as you can see from the Russian billionaires on the list, many influential people have made vast fortunes when state-owned monopolies were "privatized" and became privately-owned monopolies.