Carlos Slim's Net Worth Inflation-Adjusted

Carlos Slim Helú, a Mexican business magnate and philanthropist, built a vast conglomerate, Grupo Carso, and is best known for his control of telecommunications giant América Móvil.

For global comparison, news publications and wealth rankings report his fortune in US dollars. Because these historical figures are denominated in US dollars, we adjust them for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) to accurately measure the change in his fortune's real purchasing power.

Explore the chart and data below to visualize the difference between reported wealth and its inflation-adjusted equivalent over time. Adjusted values use June 2025 dollars as the baseline.

Key Takeaways

Since 2016, Carlos Slim's net worth has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.72%, equivalent to 2.31% after accounting for inflation.
His best year has been 2018, with a net worth growth of 20.18% after accounting for inflation.
In the last 5 years, his nominal net worth increased by 19.7 billion, a total gain of 31.37% (10.36% inflation-adjusted).

Carlos Slim Net Worth by Year (2016-2025)

The table below provides the estimated inflation-adjusted net worth and its year-over-year percentage change.

Year	Inflation-adjusted Net Worth	Change (%)
2025	$82.5 billion	-21.34%
2024	$104.9 billion	6.54%
2023	$98.5 billion	10%
2022	$89.5 billion	19.72%
2021	$74.8 billion	15.13%
2020	$64.9 billion	-19.59%
2019	$80.7 billion	-6.32%
2018	$86.2 billion	20.18%
2017	$71.7 billion	6.73%
2016	$67.2 billion	-

Building a Fortune in Latin America

Carlos Slim built his fortune through a distinct strategy of acquiring and controlling dominant companies across key sectors in Latin America. His approach often involves a value investing philosophy, buying significant stakes in businesses during periods of economic uncertainty and focusing on long-term profitability.

Telecommunications Dominance: The cornerstone of his wealth is América Móvil, one of the largest telecom providers in the world. The privatization of Mexico's state-owned phone company, Telmex, was the pivotal acquisition that established his dominance. The essential nature of telecom services provides a stable customer base, though pricing power can be limited by regulatory oversight in an inflationary environment.
A Diversified Conglomerate: Through Grupo Carso, Slim holds interests in a wide range of sectors including retail, construction, energy and mining. This diversification spreads risk, as different industries react differently to economic pressures like rising interest rates or inflation.
Value Investing as an Inflation Hedge: A hallmark of his strategy is acquiring tangible, cash-producing assets at what he perceives to be undervalued prices. This approach of buying real infrastructure, industrial capacity and retail networks is a classic method for protecting wealth from the long-term erosion of currency devaluation.
Tied to Regional Economies: A substantial portion of his wealth is generated in Mexico and Latin America. This means his companies' operational success is directly linked to local economic conditions and inflation rates, even though his net worth is reported in US dollars for global comparison.

Methodology and Data Sources

Net worth estimates are compiled from publicly available data from sources like Forbes and Bloomberg, primarily reflecting known asset values at specific points in time. They should be considered well-informed estimates, not precise accounting values.

We then adjust all historical figures to their equivalent in today's dollars, calculated using the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This methodology provides a more accurate comparison of real purchasing power across different years.