Mexico's Slim becomes 'world's richest' person

Slim, a telecom magnate, edged out U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to earn the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people - the first time a non-American has topped the list since 1994. The jump in position comes following a year in which Slim's cell phone holdings rebounded in value.

Forbes' employee Keren Blankfeld said that never before has someone from the developing world earned the top spot.

Arturo Elias Ayub - an executive at Slim's Telmex telephone company and the billionaire's son-in-law - expressed satisfaction that a Mexican businessman is now at the top of the list.
"The reaction is one of satisfaction, that this confidence in Mexico exists, and this confidence in our group's companies," said Elias Ayub, who frequently acts as Slim's spokesman.

"This is a number brought out by a magazine that doesn't concern us, or worry us," said Elias Ayub, echoing Slim's 2007 comment about the top spot that had eluded him for years: a Spanish phrase - "me es impermeable" - that roughly translates as "I'm impervious to that."