A Playboy Billionaire's Bankruptcy
Four years ago, we witnessed the rise of a hidden underdog blazing through recessions and downfalls to make momentous hallmarks. Brazil's economy gained 7.5% in 2010 and continued to garner praise from all over the world for its impressive economic advancements on top of receiving the World Cup and Summer Olympics 2016 bids. The country's vast improvements triggered similar effects in its neighbors in Latin America, as countries like Argentina and Chile became well-known for their fostering of entrepreneurship. At one point, and even now to some degree, we thought Latin America was where the next boom will be.
Don't get me wrong. I lived in Argentina for some time and still believe the country and its bordering companions can make big gains with some major changes. However, many things became doubtful as continued corruption, declining health of the economies, and rising protests blinded my own eyes. Now, as Eike Batista, once one of the wealthiest people in the world, is ready to declare bankruptcy for his lucrative oil company OGX, things are not as smooth as they once seemed to be.
I remember vividly reading an article about Batista a year or two ago that lauded the entrepreneur's hungry mindset and keen business acumen. Back then, his net worth was off the charts. However, it appears that many things can change within a year or so. According to WSJ and other sources, Batista is failing to make bond payments to investors such as BlackRock and PIMCO, and is prone to making rash decisions that is hindering the progress of talks. He failed to monetize on his investments in oil-extracting fields that are placed all around the world.
A lot is a reflection of the weakening of many Latin American countries. Incredible corruption amalgamated with heavy tax codes on the private sector in addition to loss of optimism by consumers are clearly making the futures of countries like Brazil look very bleak. Of course, not all is lost. The countries have incredible strengths in many areas such as food exports and such. Still, improvements in critical areas such as the public services sector must be made.
What do you think?
Mismanagement. Plain and simple.
He over-leveraged at the peak of the commodity super-cycle... this cant end well
Placing an X at the end...
because it clearly meant the multiplication of his wealth lol
He's never been much of a businessman, to be honest. (Disclosure - I'm Brazilian). The story I've always heard is that he purchased his initial sites from the government (privatization FTW) with a little help from his daddy (who had connections in politics, obviously). His daddy would tell him which satellite photos showed more promising locale and he would 'surprisingly' blow away all bids on those.
His son also killed a biker in Rio speeding in a super-car and (as usual in corrupt Brazil) got off. Google it for details.
Bottom line, this guy's always been a loud-mouth con artist.
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