Eike Batista: Net Worth Goes From World’s Richest Men To First Negative Billionaire

Eike Batista’s net worth has taken him from hero to zero, and then some. Batista’s slide into infamy has actually managed to take him from being one of the top 10 world’s richest men all the way to earning the nickname “the negative billionaire.”

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Forbes‘ richest people list for 2014 included 500 people, but some Americans might be surprised that billionaires from outside the United States have reached the top three spots.

At the beginning of 2012, Eike Batista’s net worth stood at $30 billion, making him the seventh wealthiest person in the world, and the richest in Brazil. The fall came quickly thereafter, and in March of 2012, he had slipped several places to become the 10th richest person in the world. At the time, he would never have guessed what was coming next.

“I’m competitive… It’s Brazil’s time to be No. 1. Brazilians have always admired the American dream. What’s happening in Brazil is the Brazilian dream and I happen to be the example.”

A Buddhist monk supposedly told Eike Batista he’d be the world’s richest man by 2017, but by July of 2013, Batista’s personal wealth had plummeted to $200 million due to his personal debts and the falling stock prices of six companies focused on mining, energy, and oil. Four of these companies are now bankrupt. Batista was charged for insider trading and stock manipulation in order to save the oil company OGX, and, according to Reuters, courts have even frozen his assets.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Eike Batista’s net worth peaked at $35 billion but now he owes $1.2 billion, making him the first ever negative billionaire. Investigators were concerned Batista might try to sell or give away his frozen assets, so now authorities are seizing his real estate, luxury jets, a white Lamborghini and six other vehicles, a boat, and tens of thousands of dollars in other miscellaneous assets.

Donald Trump once boasted as having a negative net worth of minus $900 million back in the 90s, but being a negative billionaire is a new record according to Marcelo Battisti, a former credit manager at Banco Itau who now heads his own consulting firm.

“All he has left now is debt,” Battisti said according to Bloomberg. “In normal conditions, becoming a negative billionaire is almost impossible, because most billionaires don’t tend to take on a lot of debt. Do you think Bill Gates has a mortgage?”