Carlos Slim delivers a speech during the launch of the digital platform App-rende at Sumaya Museum in Mexico City. (Getty)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will reportedly blame the recent onslaught of sexual assault allegations against him on Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A Trump adviser told The Wall Street Journal that Trump will start going after the Mexican billionaire as soon as Friday, saying that Slim is involved in a conspiracy to dredge up negative stories about Trump and plant them in the media.
Here’s what you need to know about Carlos Slim, his wealth, and his relationship with Donald Trump.
1. He is One of the Richest People in the World
Carlos Slim speaks during the Women’s Forum in Mexico City in April 2016. (Getty)
Carlos Slim’s estimated net worth is $50 billion, according to Forbes. This makes him the fourth richest person on Earth, behind only Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, and Warren Buffet. In fact, from 2010 to 2013, Slim earned a #1 spot on the list and was the richest man in the world.
That wealth comes from his ownership of a large variety of businesses both in Mexico and in the United States. For example, he owns América Móvil, which is the biggest mobile phone carrier in all of Latin America.
In the United States, Slim has purchased stakes in companies such as Barnes & Noble, OfficeMax, Office Depot and Borders. All in all, he owns over 200 companies, and his net worth is so significant that it’s about six percent of Mexico’s entire gross domestic product, according to OZY.
2. He Is an Investor in The New York Times
Carlos Slim speaks onstage at The New York Times New Work Summit in February 2016. (Getty)
The story about the two women who are accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault originally appeared in The New York Times, an outlet Trump feels is biased against him. The reason Carlos Slim is relevant, then, is because he is the paper’s largest investor.
In 2015, he increased his stake in the company to about 17 percent, according to Forbes. This cost Slim a little over $100 million. Slim’s spokesperson said at the time that the businessman had no plans to get involved in The New York Times whatsoever and that this was simply a financial investment.
Trump has actually touched upon this in the past, suggesting that The New York Times being owned by Carlos Slim is the reason the paper is tough on him and on his illegal immigration policies.
“They may be doing the work of somebody else. We really don’t know that,” Trump told Brietbart. “Certainly a very rich Mexican owns a big chunk of the paper and has a lot of power over the paper.”
3. He is a Donor to the Clinton Foundation
Bill Clinton and Carlos Slim speak during the signing of an agreement for economic support to Colombia, Mexico and Peru in Mexico City in April 2008. (Getty)
If Trump delves into a conspiracy theory about Carlos Slim, he will almost certainly talk about the fact that the businessman and New York Times investor has in the past donated to the Clinton Foundation.
According to Politico, Slim has donated between $1 million and $5 million to the foundation.
This, however, was just a personal donation, and there isn’t much evidence that Slim has much of a role in the daily operations of the Times. The Clinton Foundation donation has also been public knowledge and not something that Slim was trying to keep secret.
But Trump will likely be painting Slim as a pro-Clinton billionaire who wants to stop Trump because of his illegal immigration policies and as someone who is forcing The New York Times to run negative stories against the Republican nominee. This will fit in with his narrative that it’s the establishment and the elites trying to keep Trump down and that he’s a fighter for the average American.
4. He Has Spoken Out Against Trump in the Past
Carlos Slim arrives to a reception in honor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Mexico City on February 12, 2015. (Getty)
Something else that Trump will likely bring up if he goes this route is that Carlos Slim has hardly been too kind towards him in the past.
In July 2015, just as Trump was getting started with his presidential bid, Carlos Slim’s television production studio Ora TV was working with Trump on some sort of project. But the company decided to drop these plans as a response to Trump’s comments that many undocumented immigrants are rapists.
“His statement was totally out of line…working with someone so closed-minded was not going to work,” Slim’s spokesperson told Reuters at the time.
The spokesperson went on to call Trump’s comments racist.
5. He Has Given About $4 Billion to Charity
Carlos Slim gives a speech during a meeting with Nicaraguan businessmen in Managua. (Getty)
Like many of the world’s wealthiest people, Carlos Slim has given a significant amount of his money away for philanthropic purposes.
His Carlos Slim Foundation has invested money into a variety of projects related to science and education. And outside of that donation to the Clinton Foundation, Slim has also personally worked with Bill Clinton, and the former president has praised Slim and his work.
“Carlos Slim is one of the worlds most important philanthropists and most people have never heard about his humanitarian activities,” Bill Clinton said.