Carlos Slim is the head of Grupo Carso and one of the richest men in the world. José Cruz/ABr
The World's Second-Richest Man Thinks Everybody Should Work Less
His proposal: 11 hours a day, three days a week
The ideal work-life balance is to work three days a week, 11 hours a day, until you’re 75. That’s what Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim told CNN in a recent interview.
“I think machines will work 24 hours, service should work as much as possible, everything should work more, but you should have more time for you during all your life,” Slim told CNN’s Christine Romans. “You will have more time for entertainment, for family, for quality of your life, and also to train, to find a better job. … And you will make stronger the economy, stronger the markets, and the stronger everything.”
Slim, who amassed his $82 billion fortune in telecom—and, at age 74, has shown no signs of slowing—has been pushing for a shorter work week for a while now. In July, he preached the same idea at a business conference in Paraguay.
Workers in Mexico work far more hours per year than their counterparts in other OECD countries—and they have for quite a while.
