Slim Proves Again He’s Latin America’s Smartest Commodity Trader
Key Facts
— — Carlos Slim’s investment vehicle Control Empresarial de Capitales has sold US$497 million in PBF Energy shares and nearly US$40 million in Talos Energy stock in 2026, reducing his PBF position by more than a third while both stocks surged over 30%
— — The PBF shares were sold at up to 268% above their 2025 purchase price, with the Hormuz conflict and US-Iran tensions driving refinery margins to multi-year highs — repeating the pattern of Slim’s pandemic-era buy that produced enormous returns during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine supply shock
— — Even after the sales, Slim retains over US$1.3 billion in combined PBF and Talos positions and continues expanding in Mexican offshore energy — having invested more than US$2.4 billion in domestic oil assets including the Zama, Ixachi, and Lakach fields with Pemex
— Deep Dive
— For the complete picture, read our in-depth guide: Iran War and Hormuz Crisis 2026: Oil, Latin America and the Global Fallout
The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that Carlos Slim oil stocks strategy has once again demonstrated the Mexican billionaire’s mastery of commodity cycles. Bloomberg reported Thursday that Slim’s family investment vehicle sold nearly US$540 million in US energy equities this year — cashing in on a war premium that his portfolio was already positioned to capture.
Arturo Elías Ayub, Slim’s son-in-law and spokesman, told Bloomberg the sales were opportunistic rather than strategic: “The companies are doing well, but our position had grown too large and it was a good time to sell at a good price. This does not represent a change in strategy.”
The Pattern: Buy in a Pandemic, Sell in a War
Slim’s PBF Energy position was originally built during the Covid-19 pandemic when gasoline demand collapsed and refinery stocks traded at distressed levels. When the global economy reopened and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted refined fuel supply chains in 2022, Slim booked enormous gains on those same shares. He then poured $1 billion back into oil stocks in 2024, increasing his positions in both PBF and Talos repeatedly throughout 2025.
Now the Hormuz conflict has produced the next premium, with PBF and Talos shares both rising over 30% in 2026 as Middle Eastern tensions disrupt global supply chains. The March sales — the heaviest month of activity — coincided with PBF shares hitting peak levels driven by refinery margin expansion. Some PBF shares sold in April fetched US$47.50, roughly 70% above their end-of-2025 price and up to 268% above what Slim paid in 2025.
Selling New York, Buying Mexico
The US stock sales contrast with Slim’s deepening commitment to physical energy assets inside Mexico. His Grupo Carso has invested more than US$2.4 billion in Mexican offshore and onshore projects — including the US$2 billion Ixachi gas field deal with Pemex, the Lakach deepwater gas project, and the acquisition of Lukoil’s Fieldwood Mexico for US$600 million as Russian firms retreated under sanctions pressure.
The logic is consistent: take profits on liquid, publicly traded US energy stocks when geopolitical premiums inflate their value, then redeploy capital into long-duration Mexican assets where Slim has operational control and a direct relationship with Pemex. Latin America’s richest man — worth US$130 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with US$19 billion added in 2026 alone — remains one of the ten biggest wealth gainers globally this year.
What the Slim Oil Stocks Exit Signals
Even after the sales, Slim controls combined positions worth over US$1.3 billion in PBF and Talos. He also retains his 49.9% stake in Talos’s Mexico unit, which links him to the Zama oil field — one of Mexico’s most important recent offshore discoveries. The message to markets is that Slim is not leaving energy — he is rotating from paper to physical, from geopolitical premiums to operational control.
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This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief