The news has been full of appalling train and bus crashes in Europe, but my eye was drawn once more to a Brazilian car crash: the revelation that former squillionnaire Eike Batista is now almost wiped out because of his massive debts. Only a year or so ago Batista had claimed to be within a whisker of becoming the world's richest man. His conglomerate was supposed to exemplify the new BRIC powerhouse that was Brazil.
Of course, his actual business - exporting commodities - was not exactly mould-breaking in a country that has generally failed to rise above a commodity-driven economy. But at least Batista was meant to be bringing new efficiencies and dynamism to Brazil's clogged arteries and ossifying infrastructure.
Or not. Now that the BRIC hype has all but vanished and the tide has gone out, we're able to see "who has been swimming naked" (in the immortal words of Warren Buffet). Apparently no-one was more unclothed than Batista, the Brazilian clown prince, whose $35bn personal fortune was one magnificent castle in the air. The Bloomberg Billionnaires index has never before recorded a wipeout quite so rapid, vast and complete as that of Batista. Only in Brazil, only in Brazil.
Before his brief elevation to international notoriety, Batista's "colourful" private life had been noted in his home country, where an ex-wife had very publicly run off with a fireman. More recently, the Brazilian soap opera theme crescendoed into tragedy when Batista's indulged son, Thor (a perfect soap opera name), hit and killed an impoverished Brazilian cyclist while out speeding in daddy's supercar. No surprise that daddy's PR people were straight on the case, spinning the story so that harmless young Thor was more victim than perpetrator. Despite this, the 21-year-old was handed a two-year community service sentence for involuntary manslaughter and a $490,000 fine.
It seems almost too perfectly cliched that Batista junior's "Bonfire of the Vanities" moment should coincide so neatly with the beginning of the end of Batista Senior's fortune. No amount of spin could dampen the flames consuming this once "rock-solid" business empire. Where are the firemen when you really need them ?
Update: The following reader comments from a Bloomberg Businessweek article seem to me to be very pertinent, showing how intertwined Batista was with Brazil's economic dysfunction:
Of course, his actual business - exporting commodities - was not exactly mould-breaking in a country that has generally failed to rise above a commodity-driven economy. But at least Batista was meant to be bringing new efficiencies and dynamism to Brazil's clogged arteries and ossifying infrastructure.
Or not. Now that the BRIC hype has all but vanished and the tide has gone out, we're able to see "who has been swimming naked" (in the immortal words of Warren Buffet). Apparently no-one was more unclothed than Batista, the Brazilian clown prince, whose $35bn personal fortune was one magnificent castle in the air. The Bloomberg Billionnaires index has never before recorded a wipeout quite so rapid, vast and complete as that of Batista. Only in Brazil, only in Brazil.
Before his brief elevation to international notoriety, Batista's "colourful" private life had been noted in his home country, where an ex-wife had very publicly run off with a fireman. More recently, the Brazilian soap opera theme crescendoed into tragedy when Batista's indulged son, Thor (a perfect soap opera name), hit and killed an impoverished Brazilian cyclist while out speeding in daddy's supercar. No surprise that daddy's PR people were straight on the case, spinning the story so that harmless young Thor was more victim than perpetrator. Despite this, the 21-year-old was handed a two-year community service sentence for involuntary manslaughter and a $490,000 fine.
It seems almost too perfectly cliched that Batista junior's "Bonfire of the Vanities" moment should coincide so neatly with the beginning of the end of Batista Senior's fortune. No amount of spin could dampen the flames consuming this once "rock-solid" business empire. Where are the firemen when you really need them ?
Update: The following reader comments from a Bloomberg Businessweek article seem to me to be very pertinent, showing how intertwined Batista was with Brazil's economic dysfunction:
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