On Tuesday, Forbes magazine published its billionaires list — its largest ever. Of the 2,781 names on the list, 69 are Brazilians, ten more than last year.
However, only four are among the 200 wealthiest: Facebook’s co-founder and venture capitalist Eduardo Saverin (USD 28 billion), Safra’s bank heiress Vicky Safra (USD 20.6 billion), businessman and controlling shareholder of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, Jorge Paulo Lemann (USD 16.4 billion), and the co-founder of private equity firm 3G Capital alongside Mr. Lemann, Marcel Herrmann Telles (USD 10.9 billion).
In this year’s list, there are also 13 newcomers among Brazil’s billionaires, most of them women:
- Artur Grynbaum (USD 1.4 billion) — brother-in-law of Miguel Krigsner, founder of Grupo Boticário, the second largest cosmetics and beauty products company in Brazil.
- Cristina Junqueira (USD 1.4 billion) — co-founder of Nubank.
- Ivan Müller Botelho (USD 1.3 billion) — businessman, investor, and currently chairman of the board of directors of the energy concessionaire Energisa.
- Maria Consuelo Dias Branco (USD 1.2 billion) — president of the board of directors of M. Dias Branco, a Brazilian manufacturer and distributor of food products based in the northeastern state of Ceará.
- Maria Frias (USD 1.2 billion) — journalist and heiress of Octávio Frias, founder of the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
- Clóvis Ermírio de Moraes (USD 1.1 billion) — grandson of José Ermírio de Moraes, founder of Votorantim S.A., a holding company that controls businesses in various sectors, from cement and mining to cellulose and orange juice.
- Carlos Pires Oliveira Dias (USD 1.1 billion) — largest individual shareholder of the RD drugstore chain, formerly Raia Drogasil.
- Carlos Eduardo M. Scripilliti (USD 1.1 billion) — another heir to Votorantim S.A.
- Regina Helena S. Velloso (USD 1.1 billion) — also heir to Votorantim S.A.
- Eduardo Voigt Schwartz (USD 1.3 billion) — one of the largest individual shareholders of WEG, the largest manufacturer of electric motors in Latin America, founded by his uncle, Werner Ricardo Voigt.
- Mariana Voigt Schwartz Gomes (USD 1.3 billion) — Eduardo’s sister is also an individual shareholder in WEG.
- Livia Voigt (USD 1.1 billion) — granddaughter of WEG’s founder and also one of the company’s biggest individual shareholders. She is 19 years old, making her the youngest billionaire on the list.
- Dora Voigt de Assis (USD 1.1 billion) — also a granddaughter of the founder of WEG and a shareholder of the company.
Fabiane Ziolla MenezesFormer editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.