Dat Boy Slim: World's Richest Man A (Gasp) ... Mexican

Carlos Slim Helu.

It is whispered among some Mexican-Americans that rich Mexicans don't tend to keep residences in the Los Angeles area, preferring San Diego (La Jolla, Bonita, Chula Vista) New York and, of course, Mexico City over America's most-Latino city: The region's deep history of anti-brown discrimination and its long-held view of Mexicans as its service class are often cited as the reasons. (Moneyed people of all types don't like car keys thrown at them at the valet station).

Of course, with a Latino mayor, emerging entrepreneurs and rising cultural clout among local Latinos, that view of Mexicans is changing. Now there's another reason to realize that not all Mexicans come equipped with leaf blowers: Forbes just named Carlos Slim Helu as the world's richest man. It's a shallow milestone to be sure, but it's the kind of claim that will resonate with certain hill and coast dwellers in this richest of global metropolises.

Always a contender, Slim beat out Bill Gates and Warren Buffet for the top spot. His worth? $53.5 billion. Slim lives in Mexico City and famously invested a major chunk of change in the New York Times.

He doesn't have much of a presence in L.A. (though he apparently controls some property in Beverly Hills). But as the city evolves, that could certainly change.