There Are Speedboats and Then There Are Speedboats

Bitchin’ speedboat
(Image courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

Meet Carlos Slim — billionaire, largest New York Times shareholder, nine-figure Clinton donor:

Slim, a Mexican telecom tycoon whose net worth of nearly $80 billion makes him the second richest man in the world, became the top shareholder of the New York Times earlier this year after he doubled his shares to take control of 16.8 percent of the company.

Not only has Slim contributed between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 to the Clinton Foundation, but his company Telmex has contributed an additional grant between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 through its foundation. Slim has also pledged $100 million to the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, a collaboration between the Clinton Foundation and Canadian mining tycoon Frank Guistra.

Slim earned his fortune by gaining a stranglehold on the Mexican telecom industry so tight that the constitution had to be amended earlier this year to give other companies a chance.

The part about being a Clinton donor almost seems inevitable, doesn’t it?

Also meet Slim’s “speedboat,” the 321-foot Carinthia VII (seen above). While perhaps modest by current billionaire standards, you may safely assume it costs something upwards of $80,000.