World’s Second Richest Man Questions Value of Philanthropy

Carlos Slim Helú, a Mexican businessman and the world’s second richest man, has been criticized for his view that philanthropy is not the best way to fight poverty and for not giving more of his $53-billion fortune to charity, reports USA Today in a profile of Mr. Slim, whom the newspaper called the richest man Americans have never heard of.

He says his decision not to give more is “based on my conviction that poverty is not fought with donations, charity or even public spending, but that you fight it with health, education and jobs.”

Mr. Slim did pledge in March $6-billion for his three foundations, but he insists a new for-profit effort — the Latin American Development and Employment Generator — is the primary way he will help improve the lives of the poor. The company will build dams, hospitals, universities, and toll roads, which Mr. Slim says would create more jobs than charity projects undertaken by Bill Gates.

“Gates has to study how he can [fight poverty] in the same way that Microsoft . . . succeeded in business, because charity has not solved the problem,” Mr. Slim told the newspaper.