As part of the deal, he pledged an unspecified additional stake in 2019 if he fails to meet a 5 percent annual return on the sovereign wealth fund’s $2 billion investment, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Batista now ranks 75th in the world with a $12.4 billion net worth. On March 27, he was worth $34.5 billion and ranked 8th on the Bloomberg index.
“Next year is going to be a lot of work for Eike,” said Lucas Brendler, who helps manage about 6 billion reais at Banco Geracao Futuro de Investimentos in Porto Alegre, Brazil. “It’s going to be a year for him to recover investors’ confidence, and to leave the realm of theory and start delivering results. The EBX companies have great growth potential.”
Hidden Billionaires
Batista’s former title as the richest Brazilian is now held by 73-year-old banker Jorge Paulo Lemann, who ranks 37th on the index with an $18.8 billion fortune. The country’s second- richest person is Dirce Camargo, the matriarch behind Camargo Correa SA, the Sao Paulo-based conglomerate that has interests in cement, electricity and Havaianas flip-flops. Her net worth is $13.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg ranking.
Camargo, who doesn’t appear on any other major international wealth ranking, is one of 54 billionaires the index uncovered during the year. Among the others: Hamdi Ulukaya, the 40-year-old Turkish immigrant owner of Chobani, the best-selling yogurt brand in the U.S.; South Africa’s Nathan “Natie” Kirsh, 80, who amassed a $5.4 billion fortune in retail and real estate; and Elaine Marshall, 70, whose 14.6 percent ownership of closely held Koch Industries makes her the fourth-richest woman in America. She is worth $14.1 billion.
Buying Lanai
Koch Industries’ two other shareholders, the brothers Charles and David Koch, are each worth $40.9 billion, up 20.9 percent -- $7.1 billion -- for the year.
Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison rose $6.4 billion in 2012 as shares of the world’s largest database company jumped 31.7 percent. Ellison, 68, who has more than tripled the amount of Oracle stock he has pledged against lines of credit in the last year, agreed to buy 98 percent of Hawaii’s Lanai island. The 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometers) parcel with no traffic lights was purchased from billionaire David Murdock, the 89-year-old chairman of Dole Food Co., the world’s largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables.
The bulk of Ellison’s fortune comes from his 23.5 percent stake in Oracle. He also has interests in software makers NetSuite Inc. and LeapFrog Enterprises Inc., as well as property holdings, including estates in California and Newport, Rhode Island.
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