The Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu is the world's richest man, worth an estimated $67.8 billion (£33.6 billion), after overtaking Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and chairman, according to a respected tracker of Mexican financial wealth.

Mr Slim controls Latin America's largest mobile phone operator America Movil and in the three months to June its share price soared 27 per cent, making him about $8.6 billion richer than Mr Gates, according to Eduardo Garcia in Sentido Comun, the online financial publication he founded.

Garcia estimated that Gates was worth $59.2 billion, which also pushes US billionaire investor Warren Buffet, known as the Sage of Omaha, down into the number three spot.

Forbes magazine reported in April that Slim had overtaken Mr Buffett for the number two spot but was still behind Gates.

Garcia, who uses Forbes' calculations for US billionaires' wealth, said the 5.7 per cent increase in Microsoft share prices in the second quarter is no match for the sharp rise in valuations of Slim's companies which include Mexican fixed-line operator Telmex and bank Inbursa.

Shares of Telmex in the second quarter rose 11 per cent and Inbursa saw its stock advance 20 per cent.

Garcia's Sentido Comun, estimates Slim and his family own a fortune equivalent to 8 per cent of Mexico's gross domestic product, indicating just how polarised the country is between super rich and very poor, where half the population live on less than $5 a day.

Mr Slim recently pledged $100 million to Bill Clinton's anti-poverty campaign. He also teamed up with America's AT&T to try to buy a big stake in Telecom Italia which would have given him greater control of the Brazilian mobile phone market, but lost out to Spain's Telefonica.

But he has been severely criticised by elements of the Mexican government and rival telecom firms who complain that he blocks attempts by competitors to enter the country's mobile and fixed line markets.

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