por Mexico News Daily
More and more Mexicans are joining the ranks of Forbes’ richest people, and their fortunes are worth more than ever.
Twenty-four Mexican business people made the 2026 Forbes Billionaires List, which this year featured 3,428 people from around the world. Taken together, the Mexican billionaires had a combined worth of US $267.3 billion, up 61.4 percent compared to the fortune they had amassed as of last year. That’s more than the Mexico’s entire public sector external debt, which stood at US $234 billion in late 2025.
Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico
Topping the list of the wealthiest Mexicans is Carlos Slim Helú, 86, and his family.
Slim, who was the richest man on earth for four consecutive years between 2010 and 2013, now ranks No. 16 with a fortune that stands at US $125 billion. Slim’s wealth now surpasses that of Bill Gates, who stands at No. 19.
According to Forbes, Slim’s fortune grew 51 percent in one year and doubled in the last five years from US $62.8 billion in 2021 to $125 billion today.
Slim made his fortune in the telecommunications sector, although his empire has expanded to infrastructure, construction, energy, real estate, trade and finance. He is best known for controlling Latin America’s largest mobile telecom firm América Móvil (which also owns Mexico’s leading phone company Telmex), and his conglomerate Grupo Carso. Slim’s personal net worth is equivalent to 6.7 percent of Mexico’s GDP.
Following Slim is Germán Larrea Mota Velasco, 72, and his family at No. 30. Larrea is worth $67.1 billion, up 134 percent from $28.6 billion last year, Forbes reported.
Larrea, who rarely appears in public, owns a diverse range of companies across multiple sectors. He amassed his wealth after he inherited the Grupo México mining conglomerate, which has expanded under his leadership to include railway transport companies such as Ferromex, as well as movie theaters (Cinemex) and various infrastructure companies.
Which other Mexicans made the list?
Other notable names include Alejandro Baillères Gual and family at No. 140 (Palacio de Hierro, Seguros GNP), María Asunción Aramburuzabala and family at No. 372 (Grupo Modelo), Carlos Hank Rhon at No. 934 (Grupo Hermés) and Fernando Chico Pardo at No. 1,137, who recently acquired a 25 percent stake in Banamex.
Aramburuzabala stands out as the only Mexican woman on the list, consolidating her position as the wealthiest woman in Mexico.
