<p>Slim, a telecom magnate, edged out U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to earn the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people - the first time a non-American has topped the list since 1994. The jump in position comes following a year in which Slim's cell phone holdings rebounded in value.<br /><br />Forbes' employee Keren Blankfeld said that never before has someone from the developing world earned the top spot.<br /><br />Arturo Elias Ayub - an executive at Slim's Telmex telephone company and the billionaire's son-in-law - expressed satisfaction that a Mexican businessman is now at the top of the list.<br />"The reaction is one of satisfaction, that this confidence in Mexico exists, and this confidence in our group's companies," said Elias Ayub, who frequently acts as Slim's spokesman.<br /><br />"This is a number brought out by a magazine that doesn't concern us, or worry us," said Elias Ayub, echoing Slim's 2007 comment about the top spot that had eluded him for years: a Spanish phrase - "me es impermeable" - that roughly translates as "I'm impervious to that."</p>
<p>Slim, a telecom magnate, edged out U.S. billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to earn the top spot on Forbes' list of the world's richest people - the first time a non-American has topped the list since 1994. The jump in position comes following a year in which Slim's cell phone holdings rebounded in value.<br /><br />Forbes' employee Keren Blankfeld said that never before has someone from the developing world earned the top spot.<br /><br />Arturo Elias Ayub - an executive at Slim's Telmex telephone company and the billionaire's son-in-law - expressed satisfaction that a Mexican businessman is now at the top of the list.<br />"The reaction is one of satisfaction, that this confidence in Mexico exists, and this confidence in our group's companies," said Elias Ayub, who frequently acts as Slim's spokesman.<br /><br />"This is a number brought out by a magazine that doesn't concern us, or worry us," said Elias Ayub, echoing Slim's 2007 comment about the top spot that had eluded him for years: a Spanish phrase - "me es impermeable" - that roughly translates as "I'm impervious to that."</p>
