4. Helu’s Kidnap Case
Did Carlos say anything about the criticisms towards his generosity? Not really. What about when Trump said he controls New York Times? Not either. Carlos doesn’t like being in the spotlight. In fact, the whole Slim Helu family has been avoiding this kind of attention.
The thing is, when you are so damn rich, the attention can grow into something dangerous. Carlos didn’t really care until his cousin, Alfredo Harp Helu, was kidnapped.
It happened in 1994, the fourth year of profit-motivated kidnappings targeting hundreds of Mexico’s top business executives. Alfredo was taken on his way to his office where he works as the president of Mexico’s largest banking group.
After 106 days being held by the kidnappers, he was released after his family paid $30 million of ransom money. The Helu family requested the police not to intervene. And this triggered fears among executives of encouraging more kidnappings. After the kidnap, Alfredo was active in calling the government to put a stop on this matter.
