The CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has recently recaptured the title of “The Richest Person in the World” from the renowned Mexican magnate and investor Carlos Slim Helu, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 57-year-old American, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), has now got an estimated fortune of around $72.7 billion, 16 percent year-to-date. His brand has hit a five-year high as the original report describes. The largest mobile-phone operator throughout the Americas, Carlos Slim’s America Movil (AMXL), has dropped an unhappy 14 percent this year, as the Congress of Mexico had passed a bill which can ruin the Mexican billionaire’s financial domination. Therefore, the estimated net worth of Mr. Slim has lost a whopping $3 million.
Greg Lesko, managing director at Deltec Asset Management LLC, from New York, describes: “When they’re talking about reform in a country that’s generally poor, and the guy shows up No. 1 on the list – not a good thing.” Mr. Lesko was appointed a high position in Slim’s company, overseeing an astonishing $750 million. He further adds: “He’s had a pretty good monopoly situation in Mexico, and the Mexican cellphone user has been paying more than he should. We applaud it for the country.”
Given the fact that 70 percent of Mexico’s mobile-phone subscribers have chosen America Movil (AMXL) and that 80 percent of Mexico’s headlines are held by the brand, the bill passed in Mexico last month has pretty much dismembered Slim’s fortune. Backed by President Enrique Pena Nieto and now facing state legislatures, the bill will reportedly allow regulators to break up phone companies with more than half of the market and compel them to share their networks.
On the side of Microsoft, the brand’s shares have risen 28 percent this year, buoyed by sale of business and server software, alongside cost controls, in contrast to the weak demand of Windows 8 operating software system for personal computers. A large percent of Bill Gates’ rising fortune is also due to recent increases in stock holdings, including waste-collector brand Republic Services Inc. (RSG) and the Canadian National Railway Co (CNR).
Much of Bill Gates’ fortune is held in Cascade Investment LLC through which he owns stakes in quite a large number of publicly traded brands and a few closely held operations. The holding includes Corbis Corp. and Four Seasons. Microsoft actually holds less than a quarter of Bill Gates’ fortune. In addition, this charismatic figure has earlier donated $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
[Bloomberg]
