… and unlike the world’s richest man, his insight may extend beyond business:

 Slim, 67, has added a staggering 23 billion dollars to his personal fortune over the last 14 months, thanks largely to a strong Mexican economy and a stock market that jumped nearly 50 percent last year.

He accrued four billion dollars of that just since Forbes unveiled its annual rich list in early March, giving Slim the equivalent of roughly seven percent of Mexico’s annual economic output, according to Forbes.

The tycoon has brushed off criticism that his Telmex company is effectively a monopoly, saying earlier this year: “When you live for others’ opinions, you are dead. I don’t want to live thinking about how I’ll be remembered.”

He has derided Gates and Buffett for giving away so much of their wealth, reportedly saying: “Poverty isn’t solved with donations,” according to Forbes.

Building businesses, he reportedly said, did more for society than “going around like Santa Claus.“