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He is everything from a political advisor to the highest ranking Mexican officials, to a devout family man, but Helu would be the first one to tell you that first and foremost, he is an entrepreneur. It is through those eyes that he approaches everything else. What does that mean exactly? That means that everything Helu does, he does with its own bottom line.
Helu may be the second richest man in the world, but until recently, he has kept most of that fortune to himself. Unlike his counterparts at the top of the Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest, Helu saw little use in donating money to charity. “Our concept is more to accomplish and solve things, rather than giving, that is, not going around like Santa Claus,” he once said. “Poverty isn't solved with donations.”
In more recent times, Helu has begun to soften his stand when it comes to philanthropy, but his bottom line remains as firm as ever. “I've always said that the better off you are, the more responsibility you have for helping others,” he says. “Just as I think it's important to run companies well, with a close eye to the bottom line, I think you have to use your entrepreneurial experience to make corporate philanthropy effective.”
To that end, Helu established charitable foundations for both Telmex and Grupo Carso, which have a combined fund of more than $4 billion. Last year, these groups gave out 17,000 college scholarships, paid bail for 5,000 first-time arrestees, and paid for 11,000 surgical operations in rural areas. “How can we develop if we’re always stuck in crises?” he asks. After turning control of his investments over to his three sons, Helu now plans to devote more of his time and energy to these charitable efforts.
“I believe that if a businessman knows how to efficiently manage his business, he should be able to manage a foundation efficiently,” he says. “It’s not a question of giving money away, it’s a question of going somewhere and doing something and making sure the basic costs are paid…I’m channeling resources to try to solve problems as quickly as possible.”
Much like Helu brought his cost-efficient and infrastructure slimming measures to his companies, so too did he introduce these concepts to his foundations. And, Helu wishes others would follow suit, because as he sees it, a region’s social and economic development is good for business development too. “The American government, which is looking for something useful to do with its surplus, should consider it: There's no better investment than promoting [Latin America's] development,” he says. “They shouldn't do it to be Good Samaritans, but for good business reasons… If the U.S. promotes education, it will be able to sell more products coming out of the new digital civilization.”
Helu’s charitable pledges still amount to considerably less than those of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, number one and three on the Forbes’ list of the world’s richest respectively, but what he has done with his foundations is significant. Helu has demonstrated the importance of approaching everything you do with a sound business management plan, and an eye on the bottom line.
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I was reminded today of a running joke I have with my wife. Occasionally, she will ask me to do some odd job or another and then immediately proceed to tell me just how to do it.
