When the North American Free Trade Agreement was being negotiated, supporters promised it would increase the income of Mexicans. And the middle class did grow in Mexico over the past two decades. But it's clear that Mexico's ultrarich are among its big winners.
Mexico now claims the richest man in the world — richer than Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. He has six times the wealth of Mark Zuckerberg — but nowhere near the fame. He's Carlos Slim Helu, 73, and much of his wealth comes from his cellphone company, America Movil, the largest in Latin America. His reach also touches the U.S., where his investments include a piece of The New York Times.
The rest of Mexico's uber-rich are even less-known. They made their riches in mining, TV, Coca-Cola and beer.
Forbes magazine puts the number of Mexican billionaires at 15; others say there are many more. Dolia Estevez, a contributor to Forbes, says many of Mexico's billionaires are old — in their 70s and 80s — and keep a low profile.
"A lot of people avoid publicity, especially in a country like Mexico, where there are so [many] security problems," Estevez says.
But Estevez says there are a lot of newcomers to the billionaires' club, too. There were five in the past year, most attributing their wealth to FEMSA, the largest Coca-Cola distributor in the world and Latin America's largest convenience store chain.
Economist Luis de la Calle, who helped negotiate NAFTA for Mexico, says these billionaires have gotten wealthier in the past 20 years by what was not in NAFTA. The trade pact specifically excluded opening the telephone, television and transportation sectors. He says in hindsight, that was a mistake; NAFTA should have been more ambitious.
Parallels
NAFTA Opened Continent For Some Canadian Companies