By Neal Erickson

Internationally, microlending has been lauded as a tremendous benefit for the working poor. In Bangladesh a man named Mohammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in 1983, and in 2006 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work making fair priced loans available to poor working people. The Grameen Bank has been an inspiration to like-minded people around the world.

In Mexico, there have been numerous organizations formed to bring this benefit to the people (see Alvin Starkman’s article on Fundación en Via in this issue), and have a seemingly endless list of success stories of those who have used small amounts of borrowed money to make large advances in their lives. However some corporations have entered this market, and because of lack of government regulations or laws limiting excesses, have built extremely efficient, and some say obscenely profitable business models. One of the most visible of these, but not by any means the only, is Elektra/Banco Azteca. Continue reading Microlending: Mexico’s Double-Edged Sword →

By Julie Etra

#1. Carlos Slim Helú.,  $69.0 billion

Commonly known as Carlos Slim, is the richest individual in the world with a net worth of $69 billion as of March 2012. He made his fortune through the telecommunications business, specifically as Chairman and CEO of the Mexican mega monopolies Telmex, Telcel and América Móvil. His parents were both of Lebanese descent, having migrated eventually to Mexico City, although his mother was born in Chihuahua Mexico. His father and his uncle founded the business La Estrella de Oriente (“the Star of the East”), a dry goods store, with 25,800 pesos. The young Carlos learned about business early in life, although his father died when Carlos was only 13. He received a degree in engineering from UNAM, and started the Grupo Carso in 1965, the first of his many businesses. He is also a respected philanthropist and baseball lover. Continue reading The Richest Mexicans →