How did the planet's richest people make their billions? From celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and tech titans, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng fin...
Carlos Slim Helú's financial might has led some people to nickname his native Mexico ‘Slimlandia’. He dominates the country’s businesses, from telecoms to construction. But how did a man whose hero happens to be the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan get to be the richest person in the world? Many have blamed his monopolist business empire for Mexico’s slow economic development. Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng tell the story of a baseball fan who’s calm in a crisis, rushing in to invest while others rush out. Then they decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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Roman Abramovich: Premier League oligarch
Roman Abramovich was known as the "stealth oligarch" before he stepped into the limelight as Chelsea football club’s sugar daddy owner. The man loves a yacht: his largest cost $427m, and has bullet-proof windows and an escape submarine. Abramovich made his fortune from post-Soviet privatisation, aided by a man known as the “Godfather of the Kremlin”, Boris Berezovsky, and close ties to Vladimir Putin in the early years of his presidency. But with recent reports of a suspected poisoning and sanctions against him in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, Abramovich’s luck might be changing. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track Abramovich’s meteoric rise from being a hard-up orphan to making billions from oil and aluminium. Then they decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s richest person
Mukesh Ambani caught the world’s attention when he forked out $600m on his son’s wedding, including a performance by Rihanna – but how did he become Asia’s richest person? Mukesh grew his father’s polyester trading company, Reliance Industries, into a conglomerate. But when he died without a will, Mukesh had to fight his brother for control of the family business. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow Mukesh Ambani’s story from living in a Mumbai slum to building the world’s most expensive private residence - featuring an ice cream parlour and an artificial snow room - then decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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Patrice Motsepe: Mining magnate
Metal man and football fan Patrice Motsepe rose out of post-apartheid South Africa to become the country’s first black billionaire. Under apartheid, Patrice had to get a special permit to study at an ‘whites-only’ university - the same that Nelson Mandela attended in the 1940s - becoming a lawyer before following the gold into the mines. When the racist regime finally crumbled, he benefited from Black Economic Empowerment initiatives that turbo-charged his wealth. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track Patrice’s rise from asking to do the worst job in the mines to owning them. Then they decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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Jack Ma: China's ecommerce CEO
Jack Ma is the king of ecommerce in China. Nicknamed 'Daddy Ma', the former school teacher even appeared alongside martial arts legend Jet Li in a kung fu movie. But how did a scrawny, belligerent child, who was the only person who failed to get hired at his local KFC, become the chairman and CEO of online mega-platform Alibaba? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how a crazy trip to America, where Jack had to flee from a conman, ended up introducing him to the internet, which would make him his fortune. Then they decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.
How did the planet's richest people make their billions? From celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and tech titans, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out, and then decide whether they think they’re good, bad, or just another billionaire.Ever wondered how Taylor Swift went from country singer to money-spinner? How Amazon boss Jeff Bezos came to launch one of the biggest corporations of the internet age? And how six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan made his fortune with Nike? Good Bad Billionaire is here to analyse the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. No detail is too small and no story too wild to uncover. Join us on a global journey, discovering all we can about some of the richest people on the planet. We hear about billionaires in Russia, China, New Zealand, India, Nigeria and the UK. In the United States, there are those who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and high street fashion.Exploring the lives of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, El Chapo, Narayana Murthy and Kim Kardashian, this podcast paints a vivid picture of business, entrepreneurship, capitalism and how our world really works. In season two, we learn how the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Jackson, Doris Fisher and George Soros came to join the billionaires' club. We explore how Tiger Woods went from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete, how a communist mime artist became the boss of fashion house Prada and how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought an English football club. Find out how Mukesh Ambani became Asia’s richest person, and how Patrice Motsepe became the first black billionaire in a post-apartheid South Africa.Plus, we examine some of the biggest names behind the technology shaping our world – the founders of TikTok, Google, ChatGPT, Alibaba and Bumble.
But it's not just how these billionaires made their money; it's what they did with it next. Ultimately, Simon and Zing consider whether they think these people are a force for “good”, the opposite, or somewhere in between.Join Simon Jack, business editor for BBC News, and journalist, author and podcaster Zing Tsjeng as this podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, ambition and moral responsibility, and invites you to make up your own mind: are they Good, Bad, or Just Another Billionaire?New episodes released on Mondays.
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