Slim museum

The world's richest man Carlos Slim inaugurated a massive museum in Mexico City on Tuesday to house his eclectic collection of art ranging from pre-Hispanic pieces to sculptures by French masters. Located in the heart of one of the capital's poshest residential areas, the Soumaya museum -- named after Slim's late wife -- will host some 60,000 pieces in six exhibit rooms, making it one of the biggest in Latin America. The museum will be home to one of the world's most important collections of Auguste Rodin's sculptures and also prominently displays works by Mexican muralists Rufino Tamayo and Diego Rivera. Slim plans to build a huge development anchored by the museum that will include offices, apartments and shops with a price tag of $750 million for the first phase of construction.

Quite a fascinating story. Carlos Slim is reported to have a greater wealth than Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, though of course that is all dependent on market value, which is volatile. Nonetheless, he's rich, very rich. And this is a development that surprises me: I did not see him having this interest. I recall reading a story several years ago, in which he complained of his children running up a $500 monthly phone bill, which struck as a bunch of mierda. He is a ruthless businessman who has magnificent connections, and has exploited such to gain a foothold in key industries; he bought Telmex for centavos on the peso, and rode that wave to fabulous wealth.


Nonetheless, for him to open up this museum is impressive. Sure, it's a public relations stunt. Still, his museum will not be charging admission. Two weekends ago we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the admission charge was $20 a person.