Eike Batista is not alone: Meet 5 billionaires who lost money
The world stopped to talk about Eike Batista, the Brazilian businessman who went from success to failure in a very short time. Eike's ambition resulted in a brilliant idea: to create a number of highly profitable, self-sustaining companies. The chain business seemed so perfect that investors around the world put their trust and money in an oil venture that had everything to work out. But it did not.
Eike is not alone. Just as he lost - and is losing - a lot of money, other businessmen also saw the end of their glory days much earlier than expected. Check out some of these cases below:
1. Bill Gates
The Microsoft founder was once considered the richest man in the world, but lost his title in 2010 after donating a few billion dollars to charities. One third of his fortune, more than $ 28 billion, went to philanthropic causes.
He and his wife, Melinda Gates, have their own institution, which focuses its projects on improvements in education, health and development in many countries besides the United States. Of his still very high fortune - $ 67 billion - Bill stated that his money is only useful to some extent, and that his goal is to raise more money to help the needy.
Let it be clear, then, that Bill Gates is not on this list for mismanagement of his business or assets. He is just no longer the richest man in the world, and for a more than noble reason.
2. Séan Quinn
Imagine that in a year you have $ 6 billion and suddenly, in a matter of months, all that is left is $ 15, 000. This is the story of the Irishman who was once considered the richest man in the land of Guinness.
It all started in 2007 when Quinn decided to make a huge investment. He chose the Irish Anglo Bank to deposit practically all of his money. In a few months the bank suffered a huge loss due to the crisis experienced by the country and especially the real estate industry at the time.
Ireland nationalized the bank in an attempt to prevent a real collapse. The measure consumed with $ 2.8 billion invested by Quinn. The new bank, IRBC, took possession of all the assets of its related companies, including the Quinn Group, which received only $ 15, 000 after settling the accounts.
The case is not yet closed and Quinn's family is filing a lawsuit against the Irish Anglo Bank.
3. Allan Stanford
Born in a golden cradle in Texas, financier Stanford was the kind of billionaire who had his own fleet of private jets, yacht collections, and so on. He was listed on Forbes as one of the richest men in all of America, owning a $ 2.2 billion fortune.
Everything changed in 2009, when Stanford was convicted of money laundering and several fraudulent operations, including misappropriation of his investors' funds - more than 20, 000 are still waiting for their money to be returned. In all, Stanford stole $ 7 billion. He currently serves a 110-year sentence.
4. Masayoshi Son
In addition to being considered Bill Gates of Japan, Masayoshi Son is also the man who has suffered the most damage in history. Son's business began in 1981 with the creation of Softbank, a telecommunications group.
During the internet boom, the company was valued at $ 180 billion, and Son's net worth was $ 78 billion. In 2004, however, the company's stock plummeted 98 percent and Son lost the largest amount of money ever.
Determined, the businessman and his company returned to the market a few years later, now relying on the telephone company Sprint. Today Softbank is the third largest mobile phone company in Japan and, despite all the previous damage, Son is still considered the second richest person in the country.
1. Anil and Mukesh Waged
Mukesh is considered the richest man in India, with the Reliance Industries company; his brother Anil owns Reliance Communication.
The Indian Rupee - the currency used in the country - has come to be considered one of the most undervalued at the time, which has reduced investment in the shares of both companies. Mukesh lost $ 5.6 billion and Anil $ 1.3 billion. The two, who had been fighting since their father's death 10 years ago, decided to join forces, unify the two companies and try to improve their relationship with each other.
The idea valued the actions, but not enough for them to recover the loss. As local currency stabilizes again, the brothers' fortunes do the same thing.
