Carlos Slim: The Richest Man You've Never Heard Of

Oct. 8, 2007 — -- Carlos Slim may be the richest man you've never heard of.

Slim, named by Forbes magazine the world's richest man in 2007, is worth nearly $68 billion; he earns more that $27 million a day -- more than Donald Trump, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. The Mexico-born Slim owns businesses in everything from concrete to telephones to soft drinks.

His art collection is legendary. So is his disinterest in the celebrity of money. Magazine covers proclaiming him the wealthiest man on the planet mean nothing to him.

"I don't know if it's true or not true, it doesn't matter," Slim told ABC News' Diane Sawyer.

In his first interview for American television, Slim took Sawyer on a tour of his offices. The New York Yankees were playing on every TV screen. The tables and chairs belonged to his father, a Lebanese immigrant who taught his son about managing finances.

Slim's father made him keep a ledger of how he spent his 5 peso weekly allowance. Slim still keeps that ledger in his office.

Of his own children, Slim, 67, has a saying: "It's important to give a better country to your children, but it is more important to give better children to your country."

All six of his children work for his company. He raised them to stick together above all.

"They used to sleep in the same room, the three of them," Slim said, talking about his sons. "And also my three girls sleep in the same room. They have only one bath."

Slim doesn't even own a computer. He wears a Swiss Army watch, and he can't understand American billionaires who love to flaunt their wealth.

"You want to have a toy and another toy and that's not maturity," Slim said. "The biggest things in life are not materials."

Slim's incredible success is not the only indication of modern Mexico's vitality. International Living Magazine recently named Mexico the best place to retire on Earth. A Mexican high schooler won the gold medal for math in the international math Olympics.