Carlos Slim and Donald Trump: Are They Friends or Foes?

Last updated: October 23, 2026

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Quick Answer

Carlos Slim and Donald Trump are not personal friends, but they are far from strangers either. Their story is a rollercoaster that only billionaires seem to ride: a planned TV business deal together in 2015, a very public falling-out the same year, bitter campaign-trail accusations in 2016, and then a surprise reconciliation dinner at Mar-a-Lago in December 2016. Since then, the two men have kept a cordial but mostly distant relationship, meeting again at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2025. Think of them as business-world acquaintances who had a loud disagreement and then decided that money talks louder than grudges.

Carlos Slim and Donald Trump relationship timeline artwork

Who Are Carlos Slim and Donald Trump?

Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist, born on January 28, 1940, in Mexico City to Lebanese immigrant parents. From 2010 to 2013, Forbes ranked him as the richest person in the entire world, and today he remains the richest person in Latin America, with a fortune estimated at around $123 billion as of late 2026. His empire grew out of telecommunications — he controls América Móvil, Latin America’s largest mobile network operator, along with the former Mexican state phone monopoly Telmex — but it now spans banking, construction, retail, mining, and media. He has also been one of the largest individual shareholders of The New York Times Company, which matters more to this story than you might expect. For another look at Trump’s unlikely celebrity connections, see Donald Trump and Tiger Woods: What Is Their Real Connection?.

Donald Trump is the American real estate developer, television personality, and politician who became the 45th and 47th President of the United States. Before entering politics, he built a brand around luxury real estate, casinos, and the reality show The Apprentice. His 2015 presidential campaign launch set the stage for his clash with Slim, and his business-first worldview has always made billionaire relationships a blend of admiration and transaction. His circle of unlikely pairings has drawn wide coverage, including Audrey Hepburn and Bill Gates: The Surprising Pairing.

Relationship Timeline

  • 2015 — Business partners in the making. Slim’s television production company, Ora TV — founded with talk-show host Larry King — was developing a TV project with Trump’s companies, financed through Slim’s América Móvil. On paper, it looked like a natural billionaire collaboration.
  • June 2015 — The big break. When Trump launched his presidential campaign with harsh remarks about Mexican immigrants, the backlash was immediate. Ora TV canceled the TV project with Trump. Slim’s spokesman and son-in-law, Arturo Elías Ayub, said Trump’s statements were racist and that “working with someone so close-minded was not going to work.”
  • October 2016 — The New York Times fight. During the 2016 campaign, Trump accused Slim of using his large stake in The New York Times to tilt its coverage against him and help Hillary Clinton. Slim’s spokesman called the claims false, and the Times’ publisher insisted that Slim “fully respects boundaries regarding the independence of our journalism.” The feud got personal: at one rally, Trump called Times journalists “corporate lobbyists for Carlos Slim.”
  • December 2016 — The turnaround dinner. Barely a month after winning the election, Trump hosted Slim for a private dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The meeting, arranged after former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski quietly met Slim in Mexico City days earlier, was designed to open what the press called “a friendly line of communication.” Trump tweeted that Slim is “a great guy” and described “a lovely dinner with a wonderful man.” Trump’s habit of reconciling with public figures is a recurring theme — see also Donald Trump and Emma Stone: The Real Story.
  • December 2016 — Words of optimism. At a business event in Mexico that same month, Slim said that if Trump succeeded in growing the U.S. economy, it would be “fantastic” for Mexico — a striking change of tone from the campaign era.
  • January 2025 — The inauguration. Slim was invited to Trump’s presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., and attended alongside Mexican business leaders — a notable signal, since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was absent from the guest list. Relations between the two countries stayed tense, with Trump threatening a 25% tariff on Mexican imports, yet Slim’s presence showed the billionaire-to-billionaire channel was still open.
  • 2025–2026 — Cordial but distant. The two men have not launched any new business ventures together, and Slim rarely comments on Trump publicly. Their relationship today is best described as pragmatic: two hugely powerful men who once fought in public, made up in private, and now keep things civil whenever business or politics brings them into the same orbit.

Latest Updates

As of 2026, there is no sign of fresh drama between the two men — and no sign of a new friendship either. Carlos Slim remains Latin America’s richest person, ranked around 16th in the world by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and continues to steer his Grupo Carso empire, including a strategic stake in British telecom giant BT Group acquired in 2024. Trump, for his part, remains focused on U.S.–Mexico trade tensions, and the threatened tariffs keep Mexico’s business community — Slim included — watching every White House announcement. When Slim does speak about the relationship, the message is the same one he delivered back in 2016: a strong U.S. economy is good for Mexico, and billionaires do better as pragmatists than as enemies. Their story stands as one of the most remarkable reconciliations in modern business politics — from canceled TV deals and rally-stage insults to a Palm Beach dinner table. Like many billionaire pairings, theirs invites comparison — read Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos: A President and a Billionaire for another such story.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Carlos Slim and Donald Trump friends?
They are not close personal friends, but they are not enemies anymore either. After a very public fallout in 2015 and 2016, they reconciled at a December 2016 dinner, and they have kept a civil, businesslike relationship ever since.

Did Carlos Slim and Donald Trump ever do business together?
Almost. Slim’s Ora TV was developing a television project with Trump’s companies in 2015, but the deal was scrapped after Trump’s campaign-launch remarks about Mexican immigrants. They have not announced any joint ventures since.

Did Slim use The New York Times against Trump?
Trump accused him of exactly that during the 2016 campaign, claiming Slim’s large stake in the Times influenced its coverage. Both Slim’s spokesman and the Times’ publisher denied the accusation, saying Slim respected the paper’s editorial independence.

How rich is Carlos Slim compared to Donald Trump?
Slim has historically been far wealthier. He was ranked the world’s richest person from 2010 to 2013, and as of late 2026 his fortune sits at roughly $123 billion — many times Trump’s estimated wealth.

Faizi is a content writer at AllAboutFacts (hotteamnames.com), covering vocabulary, language tips, and everyday explainers.

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