Wise Words From A Billionaire: Carlos Slim Says You Should Only Work 3 Days A Week

Many of us wish for longer weekends and shorter workdays, and that’s just how it should be, according to Carlos Slim.

Slim, considered the second-richest man in the world with corporate holdings of $71.2 billion, is a Mexican philanthropist, investor, and business magnate. He was ranked as the world’s richest person in the world from 2010 to 2013, until Bill gates reclaimed the position.

The 74-year-old billionaire recently attended a business conference in Paraguay and said that it is about time for a “radical overhaul” in the way people work.

“With three work days a week, we would have more time to relax; for quality of life. Having four days [off] would be very important to generate new entertainment activities and other ways of being occupied.”

However, Slim also noted that people would have to work more years and more hours even though there are less work days. He proposed working 11 hours a day for 3 days, and people would have the choice to work until they are 70 to 75 years old, The Daily Mail reports.

Carlos Slim has already started implementing his proposal to a certain degree on his own business Telmex, a Mexican company that provides telecommunications products and services. According to TIME, Telmex has already introduced a labor contract wherein employees can start working in their late teens and retire before they are 50 years old. The contract also gives employees an option to continue working past their retirement for 4 days a week and still receive full pay.

It is evident that Carlos Slim is not all talk, as he still works hard as a businessman at his age.

In the conference, Slim also talked about how education should be. He said that the foundation of education should be rethought and classes should “not be boring, but should be fun.” He also stated that students should not be taught how to memorize, but instead must learn how to reason.

Slim has also other interests outside his business. He has a passion for collecting Auguste Rodin sculptures and artwork, which are housed in the Soumaya museum in Mexico City that is dedicated to his late wife, Soumaya Domit Gemayel, who died in 1999.

It seems that Slim does not have any plans to retire soon. Andrew Paxman, a British historian who is writing a book about the billionaire said, “Look at who he respects: the [Mexican] banker Manuel Espinosa Yglesias was something of a mentor, and he was still working in his late 80’s.”

[Image via Diario de Mexico]