Brazillionaires

Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country

By: Alex Cuadros

Narrated by: Alex Cuadros

For readers of Michael Lewis comes an engrossing tale of a country’s spectacular rise and fall, intertwined with the story of Brazil’s wealthiest citizen, Eike Batista—a universal story of hubris and tragedy that uncovers the deeper meaning of this era of billionaires.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES

When Bloomberg News invited the young American journalist Alex Cuadros to report on Brazil’s emerging class of billionaires at the height of the historic Brazilian boom, he was poised to cover two of the biggest business stories of our time: how the giants of the developing world were triumphantly taking their place at the center of global capitalism, and how wealth inequality was changing societies everywhere. The billionaires of Brazil and their massive fortunes resided at the very top of their country’s economic pyramid, and whether they quietly accumulated exceptional power or extravagantly displayed their decadence, they formed a potent microcosm of the world’s richest .001 percent.

Eike Batista, a flamboyant and charismatic evangelist for the country’s new gospel of wealth, epitomized much of this rarefied sphere: In 2012, Batista ranked as the eighth-richest person in the world, was famous for his marriage to a beauty queen, and was a fixture in the Brazilian press. His constantly repeated ambition was to become the world’s richest man and to bring Brazil along with him to the top.

But by 2015, Batista was bankrupt, his son Thor had been indicted for manslaughter, and Brazil—its president facing impeachment, its provinces combating an epidemic, and its business and political class torn apart by scandal—had become a cautionary tale of a country run aground by its elites.

Over the four years Cuadros was on the billionaire beat, he reported on media moguls and televangelists, energy barons and shadowy figures from the years of military dictatorship, soy barons who lived on the outskirts of the Amazon, and new-economy billionaires spinning money from speculation. He learned just how deeply they all reached into Brazilian life. They held sway over the economy, government, media, and stewardship of the environment; they determined the spiritual fates and populated the imaginations of their countrymen. Cuadros’s zealous reporting takes us from penthouses to courtrooms, from favelas to extravagant art fairs, from scenes of unimaginable wealth to desperate, massive street protests. Within a business narrative that deftly explains and dramatizes the volatility of the global economy, Cuadros offers us literary journalism with a grand sweep.

Praise for Brazillionaires

“A wild, richly reported tale about Brazil’s recent economic rise and fall, and some of the biggest, most colorful characters in business in Brazil who now have a global reach. . . . Cuadros’s story really takes off when he focuses on Eike Batista, an over-the-top one-time billionaire who became the country’s corporate mascot, only to go bankrupt in a dramatic unraveling.”—Andrew Ross Sorkin, the New York Times

“In this excellent book [Cuadros] has managed to use billionaires to illuminate the lives of both rich and poor Brazilians, and all those in between.”—The Economist

“Brazillionaires [is] journalist Alex Cuadros’s compelling tale of Brazil’s superrich, which deftly weaves lurid soap opera with high finance and outrageous political skullduggery. . . . If Brazil sometimes comes across as a circus in this compelling, thoroughly researched account, it is because it can be just that.”—The Wall Street Journal

A wonderfully brilliant roller coaster detailing Brazil's ultra super rich

Alex Cuadros has successfully written and narrated such an epic tale that could only be the work of non-fiction. Brazillionaires is gripping from start to finish. Part exposé, part biography, you get a glimpse into the world of Brazil's biggest movers and shakers. In doing so, you get a bit of a birds eye view on society and the mechanics that drive progress in a rapidly developing country. Although the focus is on Brazil's billionaires, in the world of the super elite, you get a lot of connections to outside business empires and politics. You'll end up learning a lot about Brazil, wealth, entrepreneurship, and much more, all wrapped up in a story wild enough to rival "The Wolf of Wall Street".

Overall this is a brilliantly written book. The kind that is hard to put down (or press pause). That it is so well narrated by the author himself is just as impressive. Alex Cuadros absolutely nailed it! And I believe that this book has the potential to do for Alex what "Kitchen Confidential" has done for Anthony Bourdain.

Great investigative reporting!

I really appreciated all the great investigative reporting. The author puts you as if you were in the world of these billionaires. Just insane to imagine. Really good book!

Well done Alex!

Would you listen to Brazillionaires again? Why?

I will listen to it again. Because it is very well done.

What does Alex Cuadros bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He wraps up very efficiently complicated data. The book is so easy to follow

Any additional comments?

As Brazilian myself I have to say that is a very good summary of the very blurred recent Brazilian history. The information available to Brazilian is very scattered and biased. I hope this can get published in Portuguese.

Good picture of post-dictatorship Brazil

I lived thru all Alex describes in his book, but as a citizen here, sometimes the full picture is just not clear.

It's good to see all the most recent events from a vantage point of someone close to the financial/political scene but not biased by nationality.

fantastic reading

it is really well written and describes Brazil better than I, Brazilian, could. A must read