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Brazil's Richest People: Facts and Figures

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For the first time since 2008, Brazil's billionaires club has shrunk. It took some time, but the richest people in Brazil have finally started to feel the consequences of the country's economic slowdown, which began in late 2010 amid a combination of unfortunate events such as a drop in commodity prices, corruption scandals and government overspending.

While last year a record 65 Brazilians earned a spot in FORBES' annual World's Billionaires list, today the country only boasts 54 billionaires. Most of those with fortunes dropping below the mark of $1 billion have the devaluation of the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar to blame. It's a big step backward considering not too long ago Brazil's Real was the best-performing among emerging-market currencies.

Still, seven new additions from Brazil made it into the list: Carlos Sanchez, Itamar Locks, Blairo Maggi, Lucia Maggi, Maurizio Billi, Marli Pissollo and Hugo Ribeiro. Jose Luis Cutrale, who made it into the ranks in 2000 but dropped off in 2001, is a returnee this year, along with billionaire banking heiress Maria de Lourdes Egydio Villela, who was last ranked as a billionaire in 2013.

Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann (PHOTO: Alan Marques/Folhapress)

Altogether, the 1,826 billionaires listed this year by FORBES have an aggregate net worth of $7.05 trillion, up from $6.4 trillion in 2014. Their average wealth is $3.86 billion, down $60 million from a year ago.

In Brazil, the average billionaire net worth this year is $3.35 billion, up 14% from $2.95 billion in 2014. Jorge Paulo Lemann is still the richest man in Brazil, with a net worth of $25 billion, up $5.3 billion from last year's estimate. That means Lemann, who owns a controlling stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev, saw his net worth increase by $14.5 million per day -- or $605,000 per hour -- year-to-date.

Lemann was the biggest gainer in 2015 among Brazilian billionaires, followed by Marcell Herrmann Telles ($2.8 billion up) and Carlos Alberto Sicupira ($2.4 billion up), both also shareholders in Anheuser-Busch InBev. Following them: retail tycoon Abilio dos Santos Diniz ($1.6 billion up), banker Joseph Safra ($1.3 billion up), shoes magnate Alexandre Grendene Bartelle ($1 billion up), and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin ($700 million up).

The "poorest" Brazilian billionaire this year is Hugo Ribeiro, one of the controlling shareholders of Grupo Andre Maggi,  a Brazilian soy and exporter producer. Grupo Andre Maggi was founded by his wife's late father, but Ribeiro is listed instead of her because only his name appear in documents stating the shareholding structure of the company. Brazilian Bishop Edir Macedo is the only billionaire religious leader; he also owns the majority of Rede Record, Brazil's second-largest broadcaster. Macedo's net worth remained flat at $1.1 billion.

Among the billionaire drop-offs in Brazil, the most notable absences include Eggon Joao da Silva, Lilian Werninghaus and Werner Ricardo Voigt, the trio who controls WEG S.A., a Brazilian industrial equipment maker. They were new to the list in 2014, but our research indicated that their ownership of the company has since been split among several family members. Same with Victor Gradin, who was among the billionaires in 2014 but has since transferred his 20% stake in multinational construction conglomerate Odebrecht to his children.

Another drop-offs is Cesar Mata Pires. His net worth was estimated at $1.55 billion last year, but it's now less than half of that. It's been a tough year for Mata Pires, whose troubled construction company OAS S.A. has allegedly been involved in the bribery scandal surrounding state-controlled oil giant Petrobras, resulting in some of its executives being arrested. Notes issued by OAS and due 2019 have plunged 88% since the arrests, as the company missed payments citing difficulty in accessing its accounts. In order to guarantee the sums owed to bondholders, a Brazilian judge ordered the seizure of part of OAS' assets on February 19.

Also, two Brazilian billionaires have passed away last year: Antonio Ermirio de Moraes, a staple in FORBES' Billionaires list since our inaugural issue launched in 1987, and banker Moise Safra. Several of de Moraes' and Safra's relatives are in the ranks, however.

Maria Helena Moraes Scripilliti is the richest woman in Brazil, with a net worth of $2.4 billion. She is among the controlling shareholders of family-owned Grupo Votorantim, Latin America's fifth-largest diversified industrial conglomerate. The company was founded by her father and she is not involved in its day-to-day management, although her son Clovis Ermirio de Moraes Scripilliti serves as the vice-chairman of the board. Brazil has yet to produce its first self-made billionaire woman.

Other facts about Brazil's billionaires:

  • The 54 Brazilian billionaires listed this year have a combined wealth of $181.2 billion, down 5.42% from last year's total of $191.6 billion.
  • Billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann and Joseph Safra, the two richest individuals in Brazil, have a combined net worth of $43.5 billion, almost enough to acquire the publicly-traded shares of Petrobras, which has a market capitalization of $43.7 billion. At this time last year, Petrobras was worth some $72.3 billion, which would now require the fortunes of the five richest individuals in Brazil for a takeover.
  • Petrobras total reported debt is $135 billion, almost three times its market cap, or roughly the combined wealth of the 22 richest people in Brazil.
  • The bulk billionaire Roberto Irineu Marinho's fortune comes from his ownership of Grupo Globo, Latin America's largest media conglomerate. But his coffee production also adds to his wealth. Marinho's Sertaozinho Farm in the Southeastern state of Minas Gerais produces the most expensive high-end coffee in Brazil, the Orfeu, which sells for as much as $19 for a 2 lb pack.
  • Billionaire Alexandre Grendene Bartelle, who owns nearly 42% of  publicly-traded shoe maker Grendene S.A., paid $83 million in cash for a 199-foot mega-yacht set for delivery next April. Produced by Dutch company Amels, the yacht is the first of its kind to be completely finished in a pearl effect paint system.
  • Billionaire Jose Luis Cutrale, a returnee to the FORBES Billionaires list, is a friend of Florida's former governor Jeb Bush. Cutrale, who owns an orange juice empire, got a letter from Bush in 1997 when he first bought an orange juice factory in Auburndale. Bush's letter is now framed in Cutrale's home.
  • Five Brazilian billionaires are graduated from medical school. They are: Aloysio de Andrade Faria, Edson de Godoy Bueno, Jorge Moll Filho, Dulce Pugliese de Godoy Bueno and Lirio Parisotto. At 94, Andrade Faria is the oldest billionaire in Brazil.
  • Billionaire Carlos Alberto Sicupira is known to enjoy underwater spearfishing in his spare time. He holds multiple world records in the category, which involves divers with spear guns. In 2006 he captured 662 pounds giant Blue Marlin in Cabo Frio, a summer hotspot located in the north coast of Rio de Janeiro.
  • Billionaire brothers Pedro Moreira Salles, Joao Moreira Salles, Walther Moreira Salles Junior and Fernando Roberto Moreira Salles are spending $280 million of their own money to build the headquarters for the family's philanthropy vehicle, the Moreira Salles Institute, in Sao Paulo's busy Paulista Avenue.