Forget Kidman! ‘Vanity Fair’ highlights Slimlandia

Who says Latinos cannot make it in this country?

I just received my October copy of Vanity Fair and was happily surprised by the inclusion (for the first time, mind you) of paisano Carlos Slim in the magazine’s annual power ranking (#11).

For those of you who don’t know this, Mr. Slim is not only the owner of Mexico –he owns our phones, cellphones, banks, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, airports, malls, computer shops, Unesco’s Historic sites etc. etc.– but recently dethroned Bill Gates as the planet’s wealthiest man.

Anyhow, in the aforementioned issue, Vanity Fair quotes an academic referring to Mexico as “Slimlandia,” simply because Slim’s empire of more than 200 companies represents a stunning 7 percent of the nation’s GDP.

Sure, he is no Rupert Murdoch or Steve Jobs –yet– but the Mexican tycoon certainly kicks ass. Want to know who’s still ahead?

1. Rupert Murdoch

2. Steve Jobs

3. Sergey Brin, Larry Page

4. Stephen Schwarzman / Pete Peterson

5. Warren Buffett

6. Bill Clinton

7. Stephen Spielberg

8. Bernard Arnault

9. Michael Bloomberg

10. Bill and Melinda Gates