25 Mexicans: Eduardo García, prognosticator

Last summer, Sentido Común, a Mexican financial news website, broke the story that Carlos Slim had surpassed Bill Gates as the wealthiest person on the planet.

Image:Alfredo Pelicastre

“Once a reporter, always a reporter,” says the site’s founder, Eduardo García, who was interviewed about Slim’s vast wealth by media outlets around the world.

When García graduated from the ITAM University (Mexico City) with a degree in economics, he felt that “Mexican journalists writing about the economy weren’t doing a good job.”

García applied for and won a Fulbright scholarship to study journalism at New York University. There, he fell in love with journalism and American-style reporting.

He returned to Mexico City and eventually was hired by Bloomberg News to open its Mexico City bureau.

"It was an incredible experience with lots of opportunities and professional growth. First they believed in me, a Mexican national, to set up everything in the country. Then, they made me chief of correspondents. I couldn’t have asked for more at the time," says García.

García proposed a Spanish-language version of Bloomberg News, feeling that the Mexican press still wasn’t doing the job. The idea was turned down, so he decided to call it quits after 10 years and become an entrepreneur.

He started Sentido Común as "an online financial newspaper that aims to provide business, financial and economic information that is necessary in order to make decisions."

“I never expected the project to be a walk in the park, but I certainly didn’t think it would be as difficult as it has been. I have never worked as hard in my life for so little. But I’m very satisfied I’m doing what I love doing. That is priceless.”

Now, executives and journalists who care about Mexico begin their day with a cuppa joe and García’s reporting.