Boom To Bust: The Story Of Eike Batista

In 2012, this Brazilian billionaire was worth $35 billion. Just one year later, his fortune had fallen to below $1 billion. By 2014 he was quoted to be worth negative $1 billion! Hehe, Forbes, Fortune, and Bloomberg agree this could be the biggest individual wealth wipe-out since they started publishing billionaire rankings. In fact, they’re researching on whether it’s the most spectacular loss in history, when factors such as inflation are considered. Today, Batista is not only significantly poorer, but faces a 30 year jail term for taking part in a yuuuuuge Brazilian corruption scandal. When it rains it pours.

Softbank’s Masayoshi Son had the distinction of losing $70 billion in the wake of the dotcom crash of 2000. Over the years he’s recovered to become Japan’s 2nd richest man with $24 billion in 2019. It’s not the near $100 billion he was once worth, but $24 billion is still a lot of money. So is there hope of a bounce-back for Eike? Batista’s story is different from Son’s in the sense that he appears to have lost 100% of his wealth, at least on paper. Obviously he still has a few million dollars lying around, and still has control over some of his extremely devalued companies (that are knee deep in debt), but such a loss has to sting.

Imagine people whispering stupid stuff like “there’s the ex-billionaire I was telling you about” behind your back when you attend social events. Or going to some high end club and the doorman tells you “sorry buddy, billionaires only.”…eish, it hurts banaa.

Anyway, this Eike was your typical loudmouth billionaire. He openly flaunted his wealth and would make outlandish promises to the press and investors, promises he couldn’t keep. For example, he once claimed his oil venture could pump 750,000 barrels a day, and ended up delivering only 15,000 bpd. He invested heavily in the mining and logistics sectors. Most of his companies had an X at the end. OGX for oil and gas, MMX for mining, MPX (energy), LLX (logistics) and so on. It was a superstitious belief, the X signified multiplication of wealth. Hehehe, funny how that worked out.

This guy once claimed his oil exploration wells had a 100% success rate. As in, oil was found in all the wells they drilled. I’m not an oil and gas expert, but I know that’s a pile of bullshit. Such wild claims helped boost his companies’ valuations, and his net worth. He openly claimed he would be the world’s richest man, until it all came tumbling down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDfEFgieVg4

About that scandal that could see him face a 30-year jail term.
Operation car wash is Brazil’s largest corruption scandal. It saw Petrobras, private contractors, government officials and hundreds of other entities caught up in a massive money laundering scheme. The effects are being felt not only in Brazil but also other South American countries. It earned Lula Da Silva, one of Brazil’s most beloved presidents, a jail cell. It also killed Dilma Roussef’s career. You could say this scandal is directly responsible for Bolsonaro becoming president of Brazil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMXumMJZYYI:2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eyBWX3hVaE

This is why more countries are increasingly adopting nationalist and autocratic tendencies. Corruption is just as bad in democratic governments.
Anyway, let’s pray for Batista. The guy has suffered bana.

Ile Karata ilichezwa na elites wa Brazil na akina Bolsonaro and his justice minister ni noma sana .Soma intercept utashangaa sana .Beloved Lula lazima angerushwa ndani na these right wing criminals

As a businessman you need to be able to play both sides of the political divide. You can not put all your eggs in one basket sana sana that never ends well.