World's Richest Man Invests in BlackRock
NEW YORK (
) -- The richest man in the world is buying into
BlackRock
(BLK) - Get Report
.
, the Mexican entrepreneur-turned-mogul, has acquired shares in BlackRock, according to news reports, though it's not clear how much he holds. A spokesman for the company told
Bloomberg
that Slim's stake is less than the 2% figure reported by the
Financial Times
last weekend. That represents less than $635 million, based on Blackrock's current market cap.
Slim is the richest person on Earth, with $53.5 billion in wealth, according to
Forbes'
latest rankings. That tops second-runner-up and former
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
head
by $500 million and No. 3,
Berkshire Hathaway's
( BRK-B)
by $6.5 billion.
Slim made his fortune largely by holding a near-monopoly on Mexico's cell phone market via his company America Movil. He also controls Grupo Financiero Inbursa, a large Mexican bank.
In recent years, Slim has also made some high-profile investments in U.S. companies. He offered a $250 million loan to the
New York Times
(NYT) - Get Report
during the crisis that came with a high interest rate and an equity provision giving him a 7% ownership stake. The move led to speculation over whether he'd take over the newspaper giant, which both he and the Times have denied. Slim also acquired a nearly 18% stake of high-end retailer
Saks
(SKS)
.
News of Slim's investment wasn't helping BlackRock shares on Monday: The stock lost as much as 1.4% in a broad market sell-off before recovering a bit before the close. By 4 p.m., BlackRock was down 17 cents at $168.98.
-- Written by Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York
.
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