Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim took similar paths to investing success, but they share one big difference.

1. THE WARREN
BUFFETT OF LATIN
AMERICA?
Some key characteristics shared
by the world’s greatest
investors…and one big difference.

2. WHO ARE THESE GUYS ANYWAY?
Warren Buffett Carlos Slim
 Currently, the world’s third-
richest individual, with a net
worth of about $63 billion
 CEO of Berkshire
Hathaway, a conglomerate
with diverse holdings, and a
focus on insurance.
 Born and currently lives in
Nebraska
 Currently, the world’s
second-richest
individual, with a net worth of
about $71 billion
 Honorary
Chairman, America
Movil, and holder of
controlling interest in
industrial conglomerate
Grupo Carso
 Born and currently lives in
Mexico City

3. 1) THEY STARTED INVESTING
EARLY Warren Buffett made his first investment at the age of
11. He bought shares of Cities Service stock for himself
and his sister Doris. Later, when he was just a high
school sophomore, Buffett bought a 40-acre Nebraska
farm and hired a tenant farmer to work the land for him.
 At the age of 12, Carlos Slim opened up his own
personal checking account, and purchased shares of
said bank—Banco Nacional de Mexico—while he was
at it.

4. 2) WHEN IT MATTERED, THEY
EXCELLED IN SCHOOL
 Early on, Buffett struggled in school. He was forced to
move from Nebraska to Washington, D.C. when his
father became a Congressman. He wasn’t exactly a fan
of the move, and it showed. Says Buffett: “I behaved
pretty badly.”
 Later, however, when he was a graduate student at the
Columbia Business School, Buffett excelled under the
tutelage of professor Benjamin Graham. In fact, Buffett
was allegedly the only person to earn an A+ in
Graham’s course.

5. 2) THEY EXCELLED IN SCHOOL (CON’T)
Carlos Slim attended the National Autonomous
University of Mexico with a degree in civil
engineering.
While he was completing his undergraduate
studies, however, Slim was actually a student and
a professor!
Slim taught college courses in algebra and
linear programming before he was 22 years of
age.

6. 3) THEY WERE GREEDY WHEN
OTHERS WERE FEARFUL
 In Warren Buffett’s 2004 letter to shareholders, he famously wrote:
“Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their
enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in
equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy
when others are fearful.” [emphasis added]

7. 3) BE GREEDY WHEN OTHERS ARE
FEARFUL (CON’T)
 During his time as an investor, Buffett often eschewed
market sentiment—pouncing on well-known names when
they were down in the dumps, and famously staying out
of technology stocks during the dot-com run-up.

8. 3) BE GREEDY WHEN OTHERS ARE
FEARFUL (CON’T)
 In the early 1982, Mexico’s economy collapsed on the
heels of falling oil prices and rising interest rates.
 While many were pulling their money out of the
country, Slim used it as a buying opportunity. He
amassed positions in a wide range of
businesses, including the Mexican subsidiaries of
many well-known international brands.

9. WHILE DIVERSE, THEY EACH HAD A
CORE
For Buffett, that core business is
insurance
For Slim, America Movil is the
largest piece of the puzzle
 Berkshire Hathaway’s
subsidiaries include 8
different property and
casualty insurance
companies.
 The most well-known is
GEICO.
 America Movil has an over
70% share of the cell phone
market in Mexico.
 Slim controlled Telmex owns
83% of the landlines in use in
Mexico

10. ONE AREA OF DIVERGENCE:
CHARITABLE GIVING
 Buffett has pledged much
of his fortune to
charity, primarily through
the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
 Buffett also spearheaded
The Giving
Pledge, whereby the
world’s wealthiest
individuals agree to leave
a substantial portion of
their wealth to charity.
 Slim’s attitude towards
charity is best described as
ambivalent.
 He has devoted at least $8
billion to two of his
foundations
 Slim claims, “trillions of
dollars have been given to
charity in the last 50
years, and they don’t solve
anything.”
 Slim, however, has also
donated his time to
causes, quoting Khalil Gibran
saying, “you give but little
when you give of your
possessions. It is when you
give of yourself that you truly

11. NOW PUT BUFFETT’S WISDOM TO
WORK!
The Motley Fool’s special free report will help you do it
Warren Buffett’s
Greatest Wisdom