President's Medal Citation to Carlos Slim June 30, 2009

You are a distinguished son of Mexico, which is justly proud of your many achievements. You have had a profound effect on your country’s economy, creating countless jobs and developing enterprises that span the spectrum of human endeavors. At the same time, your philanthropic efforts have enriched countless lives.

The seeds of your remarkable business career were planted early on when your father, who arrived in Mexico from Lebanon in 1902, joined one of his older brothers in business. He instilled in you a sense of financial responsibility, and you inherited his aptitude and ability. At the age of twelve, you made your first investment, buying shares of Banco Nacional de México. In 1961, you graduated from the National Autonomous University and went to work for a prominent engineering firm in Mexico City.

In April 1966, you married Soumaya Domit Gemayel, and together you raised six children. In her honor, you later built Museo Soumaya, which contains some 64,000 objects.

In the late 1960s, you turned to business and began acquiring companies; today, your portfolio contains many of Mexico’s most successful companies. In 1990 you purchased Telmex and transformed the delivery of telecommunications services. In 2008, you bought a large stake in The New York Times, an investment that generated international headlines.

Your life is more complex, however, than the bottom line. Your passion for art is coupled with a keen interest in baseball, as befits a man with a talent for statistics. In addition to an interest in and reverence for finance, you inherited from your father a deep understanding of the importance of family. Your family members have been and remain a central part of your business and your life, and your dedication to family has been an inspiration to the people of Mexico and to others around the world.

Throughout your life, you have dedicated your abundant energy, talents, and resources to the betterment of your fellow human beings. You created the Telmex Foundation to help eradicate extreme poverty and to improve the quality of life of the Mexican population. You established the Carso Health Institute to improve health and to fight disease in Latin America and beyond. In short, you are what the Mexican philosopher Antonio Caso Andrade declared to be the ideal human being: moral, willing, and spiritual.

Carlos Slim, for all the foregoing, The George Washington University is proud to bestow upon you the President’s Medal.