Eike Batista biography
Brazilian mogul on his way to becoming the richest person in the world.

Today, the Eike Batista biography is the story of 52 year old Rio De Janeiro based entrepreneur, the wealthiest man in Brazil, with his property alone being valued at US $7.5 billion. A renowned, self made businessman whose net worth is pegged at US$ 27 billion, Batista was recently featured in Forbes magazine as the eighth richest person in the world. He is a man known to take business risks that have eventually always paid off.

Born November 3, 1957, the son of Eliezer Batista da Silva (a well respected Brazilian government official and the then head of one of the world's largest mining companies Companhia Vale do Rio Doce - now Vale), Eike Batista now owns businesses in the oil, water and steel sectors. One of the first jobs Eike Batista took up was gold trading, after which he indulged in gold mining in the Amazon. The dense rainforests presented many dangers, and there was a time when his life was in grave danger. Fortunately, Batista fled away in his small plane with his two bodyguards and gold dust worth $200,000.

Brazil's richest and most influential businessman studied metallurgical engineering from the University of Aahen. As his stature grew, so did the number of gold mines that came under his management- from Russia to Argentina, Batista was carving a niche for himself. He also made headlines when his oil exploration findings off the coast of Brazil paid very rich dividends and made the nation one of the most promising countries as far the discovery of abundant oil is concerned.

Not many know that Eike Batista was a champion speedboat racer in his heyday, winning both national and international championships. He recently arranged for a national offshore powerboat championship in Brazil to popularize the sport, and since then, almost 26 powerful boats have participated in the championship. Batista's own boat, which is powered by a 1,100 horsepower engine, was among the ten superboats that participated in the New York Offshore Grand Prix on the Hudson River. Batista stated in one of his interviews that speed is in the blood of most Brazilians, and as a result, two of his close friends- Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet- were both world class Formula One Racing champions hailing from Brazil.

A college dropout, Eike Batista may well be on his way to becoming the world's richest man in due course of time. He has stated that he is looking to accumulate a net worth of approximately US$ 100 billion in the next ten years, and is keen to establish a healthy trading relationship with China.

However, life is not a bed of roses for everyone- not even Brazil's richest individual. There were allegations the billionaire was involved in gold smuggling. As a result, he was subjected to intense police investigations. Despite this phase in his life, Batista came out unscathed, as the accusations against him could never be proven.

He has come a long way in the last few years. One things is certain, the Eike Batista biography is not done yet.

Eike Batista biography links

• The Eike Batista biography from the 2010 Forbes Rich List.
• CEO Profile of Eike.