Slim Pickings? Or Great Timing?

In mid-October, Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed in the Times encouraging people to follow his lead and buy American stocks. His encouragement hasn't much helped the Dow, but at least fellow billionaire and "richest man alive" contender Carlos Slim Helu is heeding his call.

In the past week, Slim has bet heavily on two stocks that most people wouldn't get near, Citibank and Saks. Maybe he knows something we don't. Or maybe the 68-year-old Mexican telecommunications titan is making an extremely risky bet as he gets into his golden years.

Slim's bets are based on the idea that at some point, Americans will go back to their credit-card-crazy ways. By pumping money into two areas that have been taking major hits of late, banking and luxury retail, he seems to be wagering that the coming recession won't fundamentally change the way Americans spend their money.

These same spending habits have encouraged rich foreigners to invest in American companies for years.

Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal spent the 1990s making large and concentrated bets on companies like Apple, eBay, Motorola, and Citi, basically bailing out the bank when it had problems in 1991.

But the prince hasn't done well lately. The man who was once referred to as the Middle East's answer to Warren Buffett for his shrewd moves saw his company lose 63 percent of its value to the tune of $13 billion this week. He responded by upping his stake in Citi to 5 percent from 4 percent.

The gamble Slim, Alwaleed, and their ilk are taking is that this crisis won't make Americans thrifty for the long term--but making a play on Saks, Citi, and other legendary brands may be better suited to a bygone era.