The Billionaire And The Airport: Carlos Slim's Mark On Mexico's Skyline And Industry

Mexico's Carlos Slim is one of the world's richest men. His companies account for 6% of Mexico's GDP and he controls most of his country's telecommunications markets. And he has built a real state empire—not without controversy—which he now wants to crown by building a new massive airport in the Valley of Mexico. 

Slim's last act

Feike De Jong, reporting for The Guardian, has a long piece on the $13.4 billion worth airport Slim wants to build in the Valley of Mexico—it is potentially the last space available for large-scale urbanization and is expected to be completed in 2020. But the project itself is only half of De Jong's story. The man himself, his legacy and imprint on the Mexican capital's urban space, and his close links to power and politics, underlie the whole story. 

"Slim is in many ways the perfect example of the cosy links between business and politics in Mexico. At crucial junctures, the state has stepped in to help Slim," De Jong writes. These political connections are key to understanding the air of inevitability of the airport project's completion. 

These links have indeed been crucial to his success in other areas of industry. Pair this reading with this piece in The New York Times, published August 2016, on how Slim's telecommunications empire—the core of his fortune—was built with the help of the state. And how, determined to bring his dominance to an end, leaders from three top political parties have sought to increase competition in the industry. 

While his profits have waned because of this change in policy, his influence seems consolidated by now: His Foundation is in talks to partner with the US government to curb illegal immigration from Central America, he is a trusted voice in shaping NAFTA's renegotiation talks, and his moves continue to shape many industries in Mexico and beyond.