Carlos Slim Helu Quotes

120 Carlos Slim Helu Quotes

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People need to feel very good about their achievements. They get pride from what they are doing.
Carlos Slim Helu

Work that is done well is not only a responsibility to one’s self and to society, it is also an emotional need. You cannot live without doing something; [you need] a direction in life. It’s very important for leaders in business to work to create human capital, a team that has the same sense of purpose and alignment. They will feel that they are doing something that is important for society and the people around them. That is very important, along with having achievements.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On his father sending him out in his early days with a notebook to jot down the prices that competitors were charging for products in their stores] I felt like a spy looking at the prices.
Carlos Slim Helu

You have to have an international reference of competition. You have to have the highest [standards].
Carlos Slim Helu

Think of an athlete. He may be very good in his own house, but not as good as his neighbors. You have to go beyond your home. You have to go worldwide.
Carlos Slim Helu

Distribute a good part of the fruits, not the branches of the tree, and ‘reinvest’ part of the fruit sees to grow more trees and create wealth.
Carlos Slim Helu

Wealth should be created by investing to create more wealth. Income is the fruit of wealth. If you do not do that, you will not have more income.
Carlos Slim Helu

The more income you have in the economy, the more middle class you will have, the strongest market [will] develop, and the best society develops. I don’t believe you need to create wealth first and then distribute wealth. Wealth is created because the market, society, the welfare [of the people], and the economy are growing… Development is sustained and grown with the employment and welfare of the population.
Carlos Slim Helu

The government and private sector combined are very important to provide modern and high-quality health and education to fight poverty and all its consequences.
Carlos Slim Helu

Government resources are not enough to solve social or economic problems. We have to create wealth and employment… The only way you finish with poverty is with jobs. To have better jobs you have to have better education.
Carlos Slim Helu



[In September 2008] We have more than 170 million customers. We have grown more than 65% a year for 17 years. Every year 65%. This year 67%.
Carlos Slim Helu

We believe we developed the concept of pre-paid.
Carlos Slim Helu

We have now many countries [In Latin America] with more [mobile phone] penetration in Latin America than [in the] US. Mostly Argentina, Chile and Venezuela.
Carlos Slim Helu

[In September 2008] China has grown this five years 169% and in Latin America we have grown 227.7%.
Carlos Slim Helu

Technology changes many sectors of society… You have a new kind of era.
Carlos Slim Helu

With the steam engine came the railways and steamboats but also the industrial production.
Carlos Slim Helu

Now we are getting a society of services… If you look at the US market 85% of people are employed in services including construction services.
Carlos Slim Helu

The paradigms of the old society are very different to the paradigms of the new society.
Carlos Slim Helu

The paradigms today are freedom, democracy, liberty, creativity, innovation, competition, globalization, human rights, environment etc. These paradigms will change these societies.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On how Mexico will change in September 2008] In the new society I see it very easy to product goods and services very efficiently at a very low cost and produce wealth. But if you don’t make the right conduction the change is a great crisis.
Carlos Slim Helu



[On Mexico] We have a lot of experiments in the 20th century. Social experiments, political experiments, because they did not know how to manage the changes…
Carlos Slim Helu

To fight poverty is not with charity. [It] Is not with social programs. You need to give nutrition for the mother, child and student. Health and employment. You need to bring high quality education.
Carlos Slim Helu

As you bring more education you have a more diverse city of jobs. You can find jobs more easily than if you only know how to do one thing.
Carlos Slim Helu

I think the way for Mexico and all of our countries is to take our people out of poverty is to invest now in people and I don’t mean only moral or ethical issue[s]…
Carlos Slim Helu

We need to have an economic environment, economic climate for investment. Because with this investment you will have economic activity and employment.
Carlos Slim Helu

We need to develop employment.
Carlos Slim Helu

We are trying to invest in profit and non-profit companies. In profit companies we are doing our normal job – employment… higher productivity…
Carlos Slim Helu

You need financial stability.
Carlos Slim Helu

I think in the past politicians and governments were everything. I think communism was a formula for a regulatory society and not a modern society.
Carlos Slim Helu

I think entrepreneurs… can think long term and find solutions and go in the way for long term solutions and not short-term.
Carlos Slim Helu



[On credit markets in September 2008] Economic cycles are okay in an equatorial society when you have good weather and bad weather.
Carlos Slim Helu

Inertia is in our minds always.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On financial institutions] Bigger and bigger they thought was better and not to make the best job, to be most efficient.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On the GFC in September 2008] They will affect everything… I would like to be wrong. [But] I think things will get a little worse.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On being able to buy commodities with only 5% down up to September 2008] You need to increase the margin to avoid speculation mainly in oil and food.
Carlos Slim Helu

In 1981 the prime rate went to 21%. That was crazy.
Carlos Slim Helu

The problem is a crisis of the financial system.
Carlos Slim Helu

It think it is a better social issue [for a financial crisis] to be paid for by savers than by consumers.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On the GFC in September 2008] You cannot be an island in this world problem.
Carlos Slim Helu

[On his company Telmex in September 2008] We try to have a healthy position. We have sold some companies in the last two or three years because we were looking that something was going to happen like what is happening now.
Carlos Slim Helu



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