the good news is, unlike the flags, this latest controversy will eventually just melt away. as the columnist earl wilson once says snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough. but the cold fact remains, mark from idaho with the offensive snowman in your yard, you just landed yourself a spot on the ridiculist. >> larry: tonight the richest man on earth, carlos slim. what's it like to be worth more than $50 billion? >> i think that anything that has -- >> larry: the mogul tells us how he made it, how he keeps it and fears for his safety. >> we moved security. >> larry: believe it or not, lives like the rest of us. we'll show you a humble,

unassuming tycoon. the extraordinary carlos slim for the hour next on "larry king live." it is an honor to welcome to "larry king live" carlos slim, he's number one on the "forbes" 2010 list of the wealthiest people and we're honored to welcome him to our studios in los angeles. how did it feel when you were ranked number one? >> thank you very much for your invitation, larry. >> larry: my pleasure. >> any kind of difference before, after, during, is not important i think. what is important is what you are doing and how you are operating the company you are managing and when you have the investments of part of the public investing in this

company. >> larry: so it's not a particular honor? >> no, no, no. it's not the companies. in sector with the other companies not looking to have some kind of records in this issue. >> larry: when you topped the annual richest list back in march, they listed your net worth at $53.5 billion. is that about right? >> i really don't care about my ration. what they do is to know how much chair of the companies that we have investments. and we are managing. and has the market price. the market price changes every day, every time with a lot of volatility and you an not -- waiting, making balance sheets of what is happening. what you're taking care is about

the operation of the business, the developing of the business. the investments of the companies. the technology you are using. the segment you are in, how are you managing the -- >> larry: how many companies are you involved with? >> well, the main companies are the -- and then each company can have many other subsidiaries just like a formal way to manage. we are involving the financial market with the financial company. that means full service of financing, investment banking, commercial bank and insurance. we have -- i have 45 years that i founded the company. it was three or four days ago that it was 45 years. we are involved in telecommunications. in all latin america and in the united states.

we have a holding of mining mainly. >> how do you stay on top of all that? >> well, how can you be on top of the things you do? i think when you are involved in a business, first of all you need to know the business. after that you know the business, you can -- the numbers tell you what is happening. you can read with the numbers. if things are going well, if are not going well. you make cooperation with your competitors, you look at the international references to try to achieve the best reference nationally. and you are following the business not necessarily going to the -- go to america to see what is happening and what our

thinking. the numbers talk to you. >> larry: were you always good with numbers? >> yes, yes, i think so. some people are very good with letters and others have a numbers that you can manage numbers in different ways. and you read the numbers and you understand what is happening in the companies. >> larry: it's estimated you and your family control more than 200 companies. you're one of mexico's largest private employers. you're in control of so many things. do you feel, carlos, as i've gotten to know you, do you feel enormous responsibility? >> yes. i think that anything that has -- and all people that is clear about their responsibility has compromise. responsibility and compromise.

compromise and responsibility not only for me and my family but also the management team to have responsibility to know that the importance of what we are doing and that at the end of the day we go out, we are temporarily managing this. we don't take anything when we pass away, and we need to do with the sense of responsibility. >> larry: how many people work for you? >> well, i think now we're around 250,000. >> larry: all over? >> in latin america. mexico and latin america. >> larry: how did it all start? >> well, when i was very young, maybe 12 years, i began to make investments. >> larry: 12 years old? >> yes. maybe a little before. first i opened a check account.

i looked at the -- i looked that there was nothing of yield. so i bought some bonds. it was a bond. when i bought this bond it was duplicated in ten years. i think it was 10%. then i understand compound interests in those times. and then i think at 14 or something like that or 13 i bought stocks. i follow investment, but also my father, he began to make -- we have order with the money. in mexico, we say you have money for the week to spend. >> larry: allowance? >> allowance. income, expenses.

i think i never need money. my family used to have money when i was born. we have a big house and have all the -- my father, for 1920 he was a really wealthy businessman. >> larry: you were born into wealth? >> yes. >> larry: but you took it way beyond that? >> yes. >> larry: we'll be back with carlos slim, the richest man in the world. regular guy. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused.

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>> larry: carlos slim owns one of the oldest hotels in mexico. hotel geneve. here's a tour of that hotel. ♪ ♪ a little foundation, then we'll

get into the background. the empire is in the telecommunications company telmex which he acquired in 1990 when mexico began privatizing its national industries. a decade later spun off the cell phone business, american mobile, and it's one of the largest companies in all of latin america. he owns mexico's major retail outlet and biggest restaurant change chain. his interest includes one of mexico's most important banks, airline, mining company, hotels, construction, insurance companies, a bottling company, cigarette manufacturer, much real estate and on and on and on. are you always looking to acquire? >> no. the companies you're telling there -- was '65 when i begin. we are not in the bottles business anymore. we sold the tobacco business also to our partners. we are concentrating, because

during these 45 years and depending on the circumstances we were involved, we have the possibility to buy some business. with the time we were focusing a little more in the what we think have the more important potential. some of these business get out of the line we were trying to -- because in '82 there were a big crisis in mexico and that meant nobody was investing and we invested many, many areas. we invest in paper, we invest in tire for cars, we invest in auto parts and aluminum and copper commercial. actually we are focusing, we sold a chemical corporation, a business we bought in '82 also.

we're focusing, like i was telling in telecommunication, financing and mining, retail. >> larry: do you have a favorite? >> that's a good question. >> larry: that's why i asked. >> one that have something to look at. that's my work. today my work has targets in mainly in all the foundations that are my biggest challenge. at this time of my life my challenge is to, using the foundations and some of the efforts of the companies, try to make changes in latin america. but by the profit business i am now focusing in real estate

developments, but mainly mining. and the other areas of financing and telecommunications. i follow what is happening, but i am not in the operation. i am not following the day-to-day things. >> larry: did your father get to see your success? >> no. no, my father passed away when i was 13 years old. i was very young. he already know that i make investments. he know what i was doing. he was very happy with this. i also find -- he opened a store to make us learn. his first company was opened in 1911. it was closed, i think, by circumstances in august of '29. he closed the business in august of '29. i think he already know it was coming.

closed the business in '29. bought it in 1940. he tried to teach us commerce. >> larry: how many of there were you? >> excuse me? >> larry: brothers and sisters? >> used to be six. three boys and three boys. i am the fifth. now we are only living an older brother and me. we are the only two now. and i have also six children. three boys and three girls. >> larry: do you raise your children the way your father was starting to raise you? >> yes. >> larry: we'll ask about that. still ahead, we're also going to take you inside carlos slim's home. in phillips' colon health defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. i love your work. three. two. one. ♪ don't cha wish your work phone was hot like me?... ♪

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>> larry: carlos slim, the richest man in the world, his father emigrated to mexico from lebanon, right? slim is a lebanese name? >> not completely. the origin, the name, to say what it means, where it is coming from. the name of my father, my grandfather and my great-great grandfather. before that i don't know. >> larry: did your father marry a mexican girl? >> my mother born in mexico.

born 1902 the same year my father arrived to mexico when he was 14 years old. it was a coincidence that he arrived in 1902 at 14 years and my brother born in 1902 in a state in the north of the country. >> larry: was there early in life a big event that happened to you that turned you from millionaire to billionaire? was there a major occurrence? >> i think work and investments. my daughter used to say that the money that gets out of a company evaporates. that means he was thinking in investment, investment. that is one of the things we do. other things that we do is in good times we maintain -- we

loan like crazy and putting expenses all around or making fancy things. then we used to have -- we don't have corporate offices until now. we used to have them in the factories. the office of the company were in the factories, not in another corporate building. i think that's the way it happened. and the big things was for us in '82, i wasn't really -- there was a good -- i have cash, i have size and i can buy many things that were racy because everyone was selling and this was a very difficult year. we were in debt crisis. also if you remember the interest rate went to 21%, the prime rate. the inflation was two digits. fed pulled in the rate so high that everyone with small debt has problems.

>> larry: what happened to you? >> no, to the country that has a big dip. he nationalized the banks. it was three months of great prices. did you follow '83, '84, '85? >> larry: it's the hardest thing for someone who has everything is to not give your children everything. >> when you say everything you're talking about material things? >> larry: yeah, in other words the boy comes over, he sees wealth. the little boy says, papa, give me $1,000. >> when middle boy comes to us for $1,000, you don't educate him well. my children, first of all, the three children sleep in the same bed. not same bed, in the same room.

same bedroom my three boys and also my three girls. >> larry: why? >> because i think they need to be each -- they have only a few months, 14 months between each other. 15 minutes. they have a very tight, very near age. and wealth to live together. not to have his own bed, his own bedroom, his own bathroom. his own everything. no way to organize, go to the bathroom, another. when they go with me, three of them, they go in the front, they organize. to find any problem between them, they have many things, indeed, but never something important. they love each other. that's very important. each of your sons love each other. because the best friend they can have is each other. >> larry: is it hard not to give to them, though?

>> no. when you are convinced what to do and what you need to do, it's not hard to do that, because you know if you are giving something that is bad for them, bad for his happiness is not fair. >> larry: we'll talk about happiness in a minute. the richest man in the world, the extraordinary carlos slim. we're honored to have him here. don't two away. ocid most calcium supplemts...

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>> larry: in january he'll open the samia museum. here's a sneak peek of what it's going to look like. ♪ ♪

most people probably imagine the richest man in the world lives in a grand and luxurious mansion. carlos slim opened the doors of his home to our "larry king live" cameras. his lifestyle may surprise you. watch. >> welcome to mexico. welcome to my home. i have near 14 years living here. we have the bedrooms that used to be somewhat downstairs, now they were upstairs. now all my children are married. and this is where we get together. that's interesting because your bedroom, here together with all the -- that's the place to be. you cannot lose yourself here. i enjoy a lot more. house is not -- we have spaces

outside, outdoor. >> larry: you lost your wife a little while back. >> yes. 11 years ago. she was going to lose me because i was very sick in '97. >> larry: why did you live so modestly? >> it's modestly. >> larry: you could have the house ten times the size. >> what would i do with ten times the size? >> i would lose myself. like i say, i prefer the open spaces, the gardens, the breeze. also when you have a big place, you don't see your family, never. you don't meet each other. and my wife and me tried to have this family live together -- i don't know how you say that in english. what for do you need the big space?

and my -- when i was -- my house was bigger, lot bigger than this. the house my wife also was was bigger than our house. i don't think that -- i don't have any desire to have something bigger. >> larry: was your goal money? >> excuse me? >> larry: was your goal to make money? is that your goal? >> i think it's not a goal. it's not the money the goal. the goal is to make companies grow, develop, be competitive. be in different areas. be very efficient. to have a great human theme inside the companies. look for the human development of the people of the companies because you cannot do anything without human capital, without your human team. we were talking about how many people were with those. there are the amount of years

that are critical to that. that has begun working in the company and grow and develop to achieve and success being in high level of management places. and now the goal is by one side i think that wealth should be for an investor to create more wealth. that there are -- the fruit of wealth, the fruit of wealth is income and is important to develop the income. fruition of income comes mainly by employment and money that goes to the government like taxes and the investment of the governments and the social expenses of the governments. and that's the question, i think, is employment but to have a public money coming from the taxes we pay for health and other social support.

but mainly the health of the patient. that's very important, basic, fundamental. at the end of the day employment is the most important thing. as much education you have, you're a better alternative, better offer to have different jobs. >> larry: you're very involved in the education of the people, i know. i spoke for all those students. you give scholarships every year, right? is it hard for you to see all the poverty in mexico? >> it's hard, but i am convinced that all these for in mexico and latin america, like it's happening in china, is the opportunity to grow. is an opportunity for investment, it's an opportunity for economic activity. and to take out poverty is the best investment any big country

of people can do, a person can do in any place. because poverty used to be an ethical issue. used to be a sociojustice issue. now it's an economic need. you need to integrate these people to the market and that's very important because we have these potential to grow and to invest. >> larry: we'll talk about charity and carlos slim and art and carlos slim after this. ! ths alka-seltzer plus! it rushes multiple cold fighters, plus a powerful pain reliever, wherever you need it! [ both ] ♪ oh what a relief it is! wherever you need it! [children screaming] [growl] i met my husband here. i got to know my grandkids here. we've discovered so much here together. but my doctor told me that during that time my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries.

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>> larry: back with the extraordinary carlos slim. we only have one hour to spend. we would look forward to many more, he's an enlightened, incredible human being on this planet, what he has brought to himself and to people around him. how much to you devote to charity? >> well, we make it not talking about -- this year we would have spent $100 million. we try to the problems that we need to attack and then we put all the money that is necessary. the foundations we have done donations, like -- have like $6 million. the important thing is the combination of the foundations with the companies in some programs and the people that these volunteers to work in many

things. and that we don't put the money in the foundation because the mexican foundations, we make no taxes. >> larry: not tax deductible. >> no. mainly donations -- when you have the money, the foundation, it can only expand in mexico. they can't use the money of the foundation outside mexico. that's why we have not put all the money there because we want to do things in all latin america. >> larry: the whole area? >> yes. we have programs and we put in these programs -- say what we do around the country, we begin a few years ago, 50 years ago, now we're doing 120,000. >> larry: surgeries? >> surgeries. what we do as much as possible. that's an association with the

national academy of surgery. the doctors. the government and health centers. and we put the tools and materials and expenses to move and to travel. >> larry: what about art? you're a vast collector of art. you're building an extraordinary museum named after your wife. it will open at the end of january. were you always a collector? >> well, not always. my wife was very sensitive to art, very sensitive to everything, especially with art. when we go anywhere, honeymoon in '66 we went to europe. she stayed looking something. i said, i'll participate, too, because she was feeling and looking and very deep. and then i bought the collection

of art of mexican art, colonial art. and after that i begin to look in mexico, there were not museums with international art. mainly was hispanic and colonial art and mexican art. i begin to boat art from europe that wasn't very accessible. not the prices they have now. and i make the museum looking for the people, the mexicans that cannot travel, they have this kind of art in the country. we have 60 years with the museum and now we're bringing a new one. >> larry: you have one of the great collections in the world, do you not? >> we have a good collection i think. we have an impressionists, masters, also many things

like -- it's very -- >> larry: diversified. >> diversified. >> larry: we'll be back with carlos slim. what can we say? don't go away. ♪ [ ted ] for years, i was just a brewer. until one of the guys brought in some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale. and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement. ♪ beer or bread?

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>> larry: as we've discussed, carlos has an impressive art collection. take a look. ♪ ♪ we're back with carlos slim who also maintains his childhood home. here's a look inside.

>> hello, larry. that's my family home. it has, like, something like 65 years. maybe a little more. see the ceilings, we never touch painting or anything. that's a photo of my father. when he was only 32 years old. here you saw the area for living together and for friends and these are the bedrooms. my wife and me prefer these houses. where you come out of your room you get together with the family. that's my wedding a few years ago, like 44 years i play with that. you move your feet and it play along. this has a table for pool. this is me. i am the fifth of the family.

my two older sisters, my two older brothers. i have dinner every morning with my children and sometimes grandchildren come with if they're not going too early to school. that's important. family and conversation, living together, enjoying together and getting in touch together. very often. and i think it's more important -- you would have lost yourself. maybe because my wife and me have a bigger house when we were bachelors, when you're looking to have things you always ask for something more and more and more. i think that's a wrong way to live. >> larry: that house remains special to you. >> yes, we have this house for many years.

my mother pass away in '94 and feels like it was 65 or 75 years ago. >> larry: you visit it a lot? >> i make sometimes lunch there and sometimes i go there. we make christmas also often there. and yes, i go there. >> larry: do you need a lot of security? with all we hear about mexico and violence and drugs? i mean, wouldn't you be a target? >> well, no one of my family or me has been -- has had problems of that. >> larry: none? >> none of my children and myself. we live with security. yes. i go to downtowns and go in the streets. >> larry: you drive a car? >> i drive a car, yes. you go to all these places and you can live your life near normal. your children go to school.

all the businessmen, most the businessmen still living in our country and working our country with our families. that is very important. >> larry: did your children go to public school? >> no. go to private school. >> larry: they had to that. >> well, no. basic education -- i was in private school until high school then i go to the national university, a public school, that is a great college. where you not only learn academic issues but you also learn life. >> larry: carlos slim is known as the engineer, right? >> yes. engineer. >> larry: we're going to talk to him about baseball, which he is an enormous baseball fan, about life with all of that money, how you can adjust to it. right after this. and aleve was proven to work better on pain than tylenol 8 hour. so why am i still thinking about this? how are you? good, how are you?

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stay with me, larry. >> larry: carlos slim is also a baseball fan. long time? >> yes, i -- when i was very young, not a boy, a little boy, there were a great baseball in mexico. >> larry: mexican league. >> mexican league, where they were, in the '40s people from big leagues, also the negro leagues playing in mexico because they were not playing in the u.s. they were really great players all through mexico. >> larry: you are a yankee fan, though. >> yes. can i take my coat off? >> larry: ah-ha. i've had many thrills in my life. this is one of them, that you would take off your jacket and wear suspenders. >> i admire you a lot, and -- i want to make it more near to -- with you. and but you were telling me about the yankees.

yes, i was very little when i saw the movie of "babe ruth," then the other, lou gehrig with gary cooper, and it was joe dimaio and the radio was telling about -- and that was the time that the yankees and dodgers made great world series for many years, this time was fantastic. >> larry: do you ever want to buy a ball club? >> no. i prefer to enjoy. i think if you buy it you will look at it like a business and you will not enjoy. >> larry: it would probably -- yeah, it would become a business. >> yes. i prefer to enjoy. >> larry: family is still the most important thing, right? >> by sure. >> larry: by far. >> by far. >> larry: so what motivates -- when you have all you need, when

you can buy anything you see, what motivates you? what keeps you going? >> i think -- >> larry: you don't ask the price of something. >> yes, sure i do. >> larry: you do? >> sure. i need to know what's happening. it doesn't matter that i am not going to buy, you need to be firm. but to think that happiness come from buying things is crazy. that happiness come because you have many material issues, to have 20 cars or 30 cars or 40 watches and -- i think that's not happiness. that's something that you are -- when you're doing that is that you have problems, you are -- i was telling in the video, it's like a boy, a little boy that have a toy and he wants another toy, he don't will be happy with toys. you give him toys and toys, the

boys will want more and more and will not play with the toy. that's not the way to see life. but also i think that in professional area and in business, like a businessman, family is not an obstacle, it's a support. when people think that you go for family or for business or for family or to be a doctor or to family to be something, i don't think that they are incompatible, i think they are very complementary and supportive. >> larry: we'll have our remaining all too few moments with carlos slim following this. ♪

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we're back with carlos slim. we have few minutes left. we know one of your principle businesses is telecommunications. what's the future? where is it all going? television, telephones. internet. where is it going? >> very good question. i think that we above, many years ago, from the horse and the steamboat or before the steamboat from the horse and, first to the steamboat, to the sound, to the speed of light with telecommunications. and the speed of sound with the big -- the fast planes. and that's changed completely the world. and this change came with a lot of technology.

i think it's the new civilization and what we're looking at is people get connected that you can do a lot of things. not only by -- because of telecommunications, but with the development of the computer that is the brains and i think we're living a great new society. a very important and generous, i will say generous society where the development and the economy is sustained by the welfare of the others. >> larry: where is it all going, though? are you still investing in telecommunications? >> sure, sure, sure. this year we will invest, next year we'll invest $8.3 billion. >> larry: in telecommunications. >> only in telecommunications. because technology goes very fast. you need to be ahead. you need to be giving the best thing. and the good thing is that

prices are going down. we are very proud that the mobile and cellular service, we have a penetration in latino america of 90%. that's great. 90% penetration. >> larry: yeah. >> but now we need to do that in broadband. >> larry: you loaned "the new york times" quite a bit of money. do you still have faith in newspapers? >> i think we need to make a difference between news and papers. i think a paper is the tool, the way, the vehicle, and news is the contain. i think that will be very important every day more, to give the news and the contain through electronic means, like i was telling about entertainment and i was telling about -- >> larry: but we'll always need papers? >> i shouldn't say yeah, because i use paper. for me it's difficult not to. but i think in the future