Good Bad Billionaire

Good Bad Billionaire

BBC World Service

How did the planet's richest people make their billions? From celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and tech titans, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out, and then decide whether they think they’re good, bad, or just another billionaire.Ever wondered how Taylor Swift went from country singer to money-spinner? How Amazon boss Jeff Bezos came to launch one of the biggest corporations of the internet age? And how six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan made his fortune with Nike? Good Bad Billionaire is here to analyse the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. No...

Encore - Chuck Feeney: All duty

Encore - Chuck Feeney: All duty

When Charles "Chuck" Feeney first appeared on the world's rich lists in the 1980s, he had built a billion-dollar business selling duty free goods to tourists. But he'd also given most of his money to charity. As Good Bad Billionaire takes a short break until March, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng revisit the story of the billionaire who wasn't. Feeney's journey takes us from Depression-era New Jersey, through the high life of the Jet Age, and ultimately to $8 billion worth of donations given to cause

Feb 17, • 38:27

Encore - Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics

Encore - Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics

A year after first being declared a billionaire, Taylor Swift’s rarely been out of the headlines or the charts. The pop superstar’s Eras tour finally came to an end, and she’s been continuing to break records. Good Bad Billionaire will be back with a new season in March, but until then, here’s a quick update on what Taylor’s been up to and another chance to hear a classic episode from the archives. Zing Tsjeng and Simon Jack uncover the huge public feuds and private legal battles that made the m

Feb 3, • 53:02

Peter Thiel: Paypal mafioso

Peter Thiel: Paypal mafioso

What do Airbnb, Facebook, Spotify, and LinkedIn all have in common? Peter Thiel. They made his fortune, but he’s since rejected Silicon Valley for being too "woke". He’s a contradictory character: a libertarian who made billions from big state surveillance; an intellectual who purports to hate politics, but who’s poured millions into political campaigns, including Donald Trump’s 2020 bid. Some call him a free-thinking genius, while others say he wants to watch Rome burn. Simon Jack and Zing Tsje

Dec 2, 2024 • 46:49

Doris Fisher: Don’t mind The Gap

Doris Fisher: Don’t mind The Gap

The woman behind the brand that revolutionised the way the world shopped and dressed. Doris Fisher and her husband Don founded The Gap together and made basics cool – their pocket t-shirt was worn by both Mick Jagger at Live Aid and Marty McFly in Back to the Future, while Sharon Stone donned a $25 Gap black turtleneck for the Oscars. Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng follow Doris Fisher and The Gap’s rollercoaster story, from its birth in the summer of love selling Levi’s jeans, to crashing out of fas

Nov 25, 2024 • 42:27

Carlos Slim Helú: Telecom titan

Carlos Slim Helú: Telecom titan

Carlos Slim Helú's financial might has led some people to nickname his native Mexico ‘Slimlandia’. He dominates the country’s businesses, from telecoms to construction. But how did a man whose hero happens to be the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan get to be the richest person in the world? Many have blamed his monopolist business empire for Mexico’s slow economic development. Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng tell the story of a baseball fan who’s calm in a crisis, rushing in to invest while others rush ou

Nov 18, 2024 • 46:14

Roman Abramovich: Premier League oligarch

Roman Abramovich: Premier League oligarch

Roman Abramovich was known as the "stealth oligarch" before he stepped into the limelight as Chelsea football club’s sugar daddy owner. The man loves a yacht: his largest cost $427m, and has bullet-proof windows and an escape submarine. Abramovich made his fortune from post-Soviet privatisation, aided by a man known as the “Godfather of the Kremlin”, Boris Berezovsky, and close ties to Vladimir Putin in the early years of his presidency. But with recent reports of a suspected poisoning and sanct

Nov 11, 2024 • 40:21

Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s richest person

Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s richest person

Mukesh Ambani caught the world’s attention when he forked out $600m on his son’s wedding, including a performance by Rihanna – but how did he become Asia’s richest person? Mukesh grew his father’s polyester trading company, Reliance Industries, into a conglomerate. But when he died without a will, Mukesh had to fight his brother for control of the family business. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow Mukesh Ambani’s story from living in a Mumbai slum to building the w

Nov 4, 2024 • 42:35

Patrice Motsepe: Mining magnate

Patrice Motsepe: Mining magnate

Metal man and football fan Patrice Motsepe rose out of post-apartheid South Africa to become the country’s first black billionaire. Under apartheid, Patrice had to get a special permit to study at an ‘whites-only’ university - the same that Nelson Mandela attended in the 1940s - becoming a lawyer before following the gold into the mines. When the racist regime finally crumbled, he benefited from Black Economic Empowerment initiatives that turbo-charged his wealth. BBC business editor Simon Jack

Oct 28, 2024 • 40:43

Jack Ma: China's ecommerce CEO

Jack Ma: China's ecommerce CEO

Jack Ma is the king of ecommerce in China. Nicknamed 'Daddy Ma', the former school teacher even appeared alongside martial arts legend Jet Li in a kung fu movie. But how did a scrawny, belligerent child, who was the only person who failed to get hired at his local KFC, become the chairman and CEO of online mega-platform Alibaba? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how a crazy trip to America, where Jack had to flee from a conman, ended up introducing him to the inte

Oct 21, 2024 • 43:08

Yvon Chouinard: A $3 billion giveaway

Yvon Chouinard: A $3 billion giveaway

The story of how Yvon Chouinard, a reluctant billionaire who only wanted to climb and surf, harnessed his passions to create outdoor apparel brand Patagonia - before giving it all away to fight climate change. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng discover how the self-proclaimed "existential dirtbag" went from jumping freight trains and eating cat food to leading the charge for businesses to commit to environmental causes. Simon and Zing track the life of a man who claims th

Oct 14, 2024 • 47:31

Whitney Wolfe Herd: Dating app entrepreneur

Whitney Wolfe Herd: Dating app entrepreneur

Whitney Wolfe Herd, the “queen of the swipes”, launched a female-led dating app after a public scandal around her sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Tinder. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow her story from a popular student with a flair for marketing, to carving her own path in the male-dominated tech world. Owning the ‘girlboss’ image, she took her company Bumble public aged just 31 with her baby "on her hip", making her the youngest self-made fe

Oct 7, 2024 • 42:18

Aliko Dangote: Africa’s richest person

Aliko Dangote: Africa’s richest person

Industrialist Aliko Dangote is known as a mild-mannered cement tycoon who often drives himself to business meetings. How did he become the world’s richest black person? Dangote rapidly dominated Nigeria’s cement, sugar, flour and fertiliser markets. He says his mission is to make Nigeria’s economy self-reliant, without requiring Western investment or imports. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng look back on Dangote’s life - from a childhood selling sweets in the playground

Sep 30, 2024 • 38:28

Sam Altman: ChatGPT and the AI revolution

Sam Altman: ChatGPT and the AI revolution

How is freshly minted billionaire Sam Altman shaping our future through his company OpenAI and ChatGPT? He made his fortune by investing in huge tech start-ups like Reddit and Airbnb, before turning his attention to artificial intelligence - being fired and re-hired by his own company in the process. Altman believes that OpenAI, with him in charge, can make the world a better place. Yet he’s also preparing for the apocalypse, just in case AI turns on its creators and attacks humanity. BBC busine

Sep 23, 2024 • 45:48

Zhang Yiming: TikTok’s tech boss

Zhang Yiming: TikTok’s tech boss

How did an unassuming software engineer become one of the richest people on the planet? This is the story of how Zhang Yiming transformed social media by creating TikTok, and how the Chinese tech company ByteDance became a multi-billion dollar business. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explore Yiming’s various successes with different apps before he hit the jackpot with TikTok. Then they decide whether they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.

Sep 16, 2024 • 46:55

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Beer, brewing and biotech

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Beer, brewing and biotech

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw built a pharmaceutical empire after failing to get a job brewing beer. She also overcame gender bias to become India’s first self-made female billionaire. Her company Biocon is now Asia's biggest insulin producer. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow her story, from a childhood living on a brewery compound in Bangalore to adventures in Australia and Ireland. How did Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw go from extracting enzymes from papaya fruit to mass-manufactur

Sep 9, 2024 • 34:01

George Soros: 'The man who broke the Bank of England'

George Soros: 'The man who broke the Bank of England'

George Soros escaped Nazi occupation in Hungary, before becoming one of the most successful investors in history. After making his name on Wall Street and setting up the hedge fund Quantum, he also become known as “the man who broke the Bank of England” after making a billion dollars in a day by “betting against” the pound. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track the incredible life of one of the world’s most polarising billionaires, and find out how the philanthropist be

Sep 2, 2024 • 45:34

Jerry Seinfeld: The world’s richest comedian

Jerry Seinfeld: The world’s richest comedian

Jerry Seinfeld has a life-long obsession with jokes, but his smash hit sitcom turned the New York stand-up into the richest comedian of all time. Seinfeld was the most watched programme in America when it ended in in 1998, but it’s what came next that made the real Jerry Seinfeld mega rich – streaming and syndication. Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out how transcendental meditation, a top Hollywood agent, the unexpected death of a parent and an “inability to act” all helped drive his spectacula

Aug 26, 2024 • 36:56

Peter Jackson: Lord of the Films

Peter Jackson: Lord of the Films

How did Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson become one of only four filmmakers worth a billion dollars, and one of just three billionaires from New Zealand? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out how a childhood obsession with movies led to a booming film industry in Jackson’s homeland. From Bad Taste to King Kong and The Hobbit, he went from shooting home movies and directing low budget horror films to running a major special effects house and creating some of c

Aug 19, 2024 • 46:21

Miuccia Prada: ‘Ugly fashion’

Miuccia Prada: ‘Ugly fashion’

How a communist mime artist became the billionaire boss of a luxury fashion house. Miuccia Prada changed her name, then made it famous with one of the runway’s biggest brands. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Italian fashion designer turned her grandfather’s shop into a fashion powerhouse. Alongside her husband, she’s run her empire from Milan for over four decades, becoming known affectionately known as ‘the master of ugly’. Simon and Zing look back on h

Aug 12, 2024 • 40:37

Sergey Brin: Googling billions

Sergey Brin: Googling billions

By founding Google, tech titan Sergey Brin helped shape the internet. He also got very, very rich, as his company Alphabet became one of the biggest in the world. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of the billionaire who partied on planes after escaping prejudice in Russia. Sergey Brin and his best friend Larry Page became two of history’s biggest tech giants by building the planet’s most popular search engine. How did their technology startup become one of

Aug 5, 2024 • 47:27

Tiger Woods: Golf’s ‘golden boy’

Tiger Woods: Golf’s ‘golden boy’

Golfing superstardom made him incredibly rich. Personal disasters nearly took it all away. How did Tiger Woods go from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete for a whole decade? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how one of the greatest golfers of all time broke barriers in his sport, winning 15 major golf championships and 82 PGA Tour events. He’s an inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame, won the Masters five times, the PGA Championship fo

Jul 29, 2024 • 40:07

Coming soon: Season 2

Coming soon: Season 2

There are now even more billionaires. How did the super-rich become so rich? Good, Bad Billionaire is coming back with season 2 to find out. New episodes released on Mondays from 29 July.We’ll discover more about the lives of the people on the planet who have the most money, then Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng will decide if they think they are good, bad, or just another billionaire. Learn how the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Jackson, Doris Fisher and George Soros came to join the billionaires' cl

Jul 16, 2024 • 4:06

Mark Zuckerberg: Move Fast and Get Rich

Mark Zuckerberg: Move Fast and Get Rich

How one social media site birthed an empire. The story of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us from his childhood to joining the billionaires club soon after, at just 23, then on to his current status as one of the four richest people on the planet. He dropped out of Harvard to mix with other founders in Silicon Valley and still retains absolute control over his company, now called Meta.From buying up Instagram and WhatsApp, getting inves

Mar 26, 2024 • 56:50

Richard Branson: Sky's the Limit

Richard Branson: Sky's the Limit

From The Exorcist to owning 400 companies, how music sent the Virgin entrepreneur into space. He's an island owning adventurer, but he's incredibly shy. He's the record label owner who doesn't even like music. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack try to understand a man of many paradoxes and ask whether he's good, bad, or just another billionaire?

Mar 19, 2024 • 48:34

Jim Ratcliffe: Man U Mogul

Jim Ratcliffe: Man U Mogul

He's spent a billion on Manchester United, but how did Jim Ratcliffe become a billionaire?BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng learn how the Premier League club's new co-owner got rich via some daring investments and impressive acquisitions. They learn how he made his name in petrochemicals before founding one of the industry's biggest conglomerates.Simon and Zing also discover that he mortgaged his own house to fund a business, as well as uncovering his investments in cycli

Mar 12, 2024 • 48:25

Bernie Ecclestone: Fast Money

Bernie Ecclestone: Fast Money

How the Formula One supremo won control of a sport, and how it all came crashing down. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace Bernie Ecclestone's unique rise and fall. From modest beginnings selling second hand cars, he built Formula One into a one man empire worth billions. How did he go from the very top to tax fraud, and is good, bad, or just another billionaire?

Mar 5, 2024 • 50:05

Gina Rinehart: The Other Iron Lady

Gina Rinehart: The Other Iron Lady

How mining magnate Gina Rinehart amassed a $30 billion fortune to become Australia's richest person and earn a reputation for being highly litigious.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng uncover a woman who has taken legal action against her father's widow, her own biographer and the biggest mining company in the world, and who has been sued by her own children, twice.They follow Rinehart's story from her outspoken father's discovery of huge deposits of iron ore in Western Au

Feb 27, 2024 • 50:48

Good Bad Billionaire Presents….Business Daily

Good Bad Billionaire Presents….Business Daily

In this special episode, Simon Jack and Zing Tseng bring you the Business Daily podcast, looking at the four sportspeople who’ve made it big enough in business to become billionaires. Listen as presenter Matt Lines finds out the secrets behind the fortunes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Lebron James and Magic Johnson. Listen to every episode of Business Daily on BBC Sounds.

Feb 26, 2024 • 18:16

Charles Koch: Dark Money’s Slick Operator

Charles Koch: Dark Money’s Slick Operator

How oilman Charles Koch turned black gold into dark money. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng investigate the feuding family that has shaped US politics for decades. The Koch family battles made “Dallas and Dynasty look like a playpen” with brother against brother, and even twin against twin. But Charles Koch succeeded as heir to the oil fortune, and spent the billions earnt from oil creating a right wing political network dubbed 'The Kochtopus'. So is he good, bad or just

Feb 20, 2024 • 38:28

Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics

Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics

Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack uncover the huge public feuds and private legal battles that made the most famous woman in the world. She can change the economy, but is Taylor Swift good, bad, or just another billionaire?

Feb 13, 2024 • 53:48

Warren Buffett: The Oracle of Omaha

Warren Buffett: The Oracle of Omaha

How Warren Buffett became the richest investor in history, amassing a fortune of over $120 billion, without moving from the Nebraska home he bought in 1958.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng discover how Buffett earned his first money as a six year old, bought his first shares at 11 and filed his first tax return at 13. He went on to formulate his own investment philosophy on the way to becoming incredibly rich.Simon and Zing reveal Buffett's biggest deals and pithiest phr

Feb 6, 2024 • 54:58

NR Narayana Murthy: India's IT Innovator

NR Narayana Murthy: India's IT Innovator

How NR Narayana Murthy, now known as the father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, first became known as the father of India's IT boom.Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack explain how Murthy made Infosys, the technology company he founded with six friends and some cash borrowed from his wife, a world leader in outsourcing.Simon and Zing reveal how 20th Century Indian politics, an early passion for computers, and a shocking experience behind the Iron Curtain all played

Jan 30, 2024 • 53:03

Rupert Murdoch: The Succession Prequel

Rupert Murdoch: The Succession Prequel

How a young man inherited an Australian newspaper and turned it into a global media empire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the origin story of the 92-year-old media magnate. He’s been called ‘evil’ and ‘a cancer’, for others he’s the champion of free press. He’s also one of the most powerful people on the planet. So which Rupert Murdoch is it: is he good bad, or just another billionaire?

Jan 23, 2024 • 52:26

El Chapo: Cocaine Kingpin

El Chapo: Cocaine Kingpin

The story of Mexican drug lord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, the leader of one of the world’s most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow El Chapo from childhood in the Mexican mountain region of Sinaloa to the very top of the drug business and into the New York prison cell where he now resides.Simon and Zing reveal how El Chapo innovated with tunnels along the US-Mexican border, escaped prison twi

Jan 16, 2024 • 50:48

Jay-Z: A Business, Man

Jay-Z: A Business, Man

How hip-hop’s first billionaire went from grams to Grammys. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack chart Jay-Z's meteoric rise from drug dealing in the projects to sipping champagne in a private jet. Jay-Z turned his aspirational lifestyle into cash, rapping about the champagne that he owned. And the private jet? A gift from his wife, Beyonce.In the podcast that uncovers how the world's wealthiest people made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Zing an

Jan 9, 2024 • 52:31

Michael Bloomberg: Market Master

Michael Bloomberg: Market Master

How did being fired from Wall Street lead Michael Bloomberg to a $96 billion fortune and a failed presidential campaign? Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack try to understand this man of contradictions. A brash playboy and thoughtful data nerd, a lifelong Democrat who became the Republican mayor of New York, a plutocrat who spent $1 billion self-funding a short-lived presidential campaign, and one of the world’s greatest philanthropists.In the podcast that uncovers how the

Dec 12, 2023 • 49:03

Patrick Soon-Shiong: Cures for Cash

Patrick Soon-Shiong: Cures for Cash

Why was a brilliant surgeon and biotech billionaire sued by his brother... and Cher? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace his journey from apartheid South Africa to the upper echelons of LA society.He’s tried to cure cancer, diabetes, and COVID-19, and along the way rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful people on the planet: Joe Biden, the Pope, and Donald Trump. He's made his fortune selling drugs to sick people, but his results have been described as "contr

Dec 5, 2023 • 39:56

Bill Gates: Software Hardman

Bill Gates: Software Hardman

The story of the Microsoft boss who spent over a decade as the richest person in the world after becoming the youngest self-made billionaire in history.Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack follow Bill Gates' journey, from venerated, nerdy entrepreneur to ruthless monopolist, then from generous philanthropist to conspiracy theory magnet and divisive public figure.The podcast that uncovers how the world's wealthiest people made their money and asks if they are good or bad for

Nov 28, 2023 • 1:00:58

Sam Bankman-Fried with Michael Lewis

Sam Bankman-Fried with Michael Lewis

The spectacular rise and incredible fall of a crypto empire and its unconventional founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire wannabe philanthropist now facing decades behind bars. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack could not resist inviting special guest Michael Lewis (author of Liar's Poker, Moneyball and The Big Short) to tell this story. Michael was at the scene with SBF as his FTX crypto trading business crumbled and the law closed in. They trace SBF's life from ch

Nov 21, 2023 • 59:27

Denise Coates: Ultimate Gambler

Denise Coates: Ultimate Gambler

How did an accountant from Stoke-on-Trent gamble it all to become the world's highest paid woman? Denise Coates founded online betting company Bet365 and soon became a billionaire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace the journey of this elusive figure. Geographically she's not travelled far, becoming the biggest employer in her hometown of Stoke-on-Trent. But as a businesswoman she's dominated the online gambling market globally, earning an annual salary that peaked a

Nov 14, 2023 • 46:12

Michael Jordan: Most Valuable Player

Michael Jordan: Most Valuable Player

How did basketball's biggest superstar become the world's first athlete billionaire? Michael Jordan turned his prodigious talent on the court into a money making machine. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Jordan's career from his childhood in North Carolina, through brilliance as a college basketball player, to his all-conquering phase with the Chicago Bulls and beyond into the billions. The podcast that uncovers how the world's wealthiest people made their money a

Nov 7, 2023 • 52:39

Kim Kardashian: Breaking the Internet

Kim Kardashian: Breaking the Internet

How does the subject of a leaked sex tape become a billionaire business mogul? Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack find out how Kim Kardashian leveraged her fame and sold her privacy to earn billions, breaking the internet along the way. They follow her money making schemes, from selling celebrities' clothes online and styling Paris Hilton, to multi-million dollar weddings and public family feuds. But they discover that Kim actually made her billions in a much more traditi

Oct 31, 2023 • 49:43

Bernard Arnault: The Wolf in Cashmere

Bernard Arnault: The Wolf in Cashmere

The rise and rise of the French entrepreneur who vies with Elon Musk for the title of richest person in the world. Bernard Arnault is the head of the of luxury brand conglomerate LVMH, a house of brands that owns Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessey, Christian Dior, Sephora, Tiffany & Co, Marc Jacobs, Fenty and some 70 other luxury labels. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Arnault's unstoppable ascent from scion of a northern French industrialist family, to Que

Oct 24, 2023 • 43:27

Viktor Bout: Merchant of Death

Viktor Bout: Merchant of Death

Just who was the arms dealer prisoner swapped for US basketball star Brittney Griner? Viktor Bout was a man who built his empire selling arms to anyone who wanted them, and earned a billion in the process. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng piece together a tale from the secretive world of the international arms trade. They follow Bout's story from Tajikistan to Moscow, the UAE, across Africa and into custody in the USA. Then they judge him for his deeds. The podcast that

Oct 17, 2023 • 36:16

George Lucas: Box Office Billions

George Lucas: Box Office Billions

In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing follow George Lucas' journey from cult filmmaker to master of a cinematic galaxy. Find out how he harnessed the force of Star Wars to make him one of the richest filmmakers in the world, despite directing just six movies.

Oct 10, 2023 • 39:55

Oprah Winfrey: Queen of All Media

Oprah Winfrey: Queen of All Media

How did Oprah become the richest African American of the 20th Century and queen of all media? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out, and then they judge her. In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing follow Oprah Winfrey's rise from a poor young girl dressed in potato sacks, to the queen of all media. And find out what suprising item she bought with her first milli

Oct 3, 2023 • 38:06

Chuck Feeney: All Duty

Chuck Feeney: All Duty

The story of the billionaire who wasn't. When Charles "Chuck" Feeney first appeared on the world's rich lists in the 1980s he had built a billion dollar business selling duty free goods to tourists. But he'd also given most of his money away to charity. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow Feeney's journey from Depression-era New Jersey through living the high life during the Jet Age to making $8 billion worth of donations to causes across the planet. Then they judge

Sep 26, 2023 • 37:53

Adam Neumann: The Cult of WeWork

Adam Neumann: The Cult of WeWork

How did WeWork's founder oversee one of the most spectacular business fails in modern history? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out, and then they judge him. In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing follow Adam Neumann's journey from a barefoot, tequila shotting CEO who reimagined the millennial workplace, to a disgraced tech billionaire. Find out how he talked in

Sep 19, 2023 • 42:07

Philip Green: King of the High Street

Philip Green: King of the High Street

How did Sir Philip Green go from being a respected retail mogul to becoming the unacceptable face of capitalism? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out, and then they judge him. In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing talk about a man who Simon has had a few run ins with. Hear what it's like to get a phone call in the middle of the night from Sir Philip, how he bu

Sep 12, 2023 • 40:15

Rihanna: Turning Beauty into Billions

Rihanna: Turning Beauty into Billions

How did pop star Rihanna become the richest person from Barbados in all of history? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story, and then they decide if she's good, bad, or just another billionaire. In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing talk about the richest woman in music. Discover how Robyn Rihanna Fenty went from a modest childhood in the Caribbean to being

Sep 5, 2023 • 35:13

Jeff Bezos: Get Big Fast

Jeff Bezos: Get Big Fast

How did Amazon boss Jeff Bezos become the first person worth over $100 billion? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story from zero to his first million and then on to the billions. Then they judge him - is he good, bad, or just another billionaire? In the podcast that uncovers how the world's 2,668 billionaires made their money and asks if they are good or bad for the planet, Simon and Zing discuss a man who has climbed to the very top of the world's richest pers

Aug 29, 2023 • 36:50

Introducing... Good Bad Billionaire

Introducing... Good Bad Billionaire

Coming Tuesday 29th August...The podcast that finds out how the richest people on the planet made their billions, and then judges them for it. Are they good, bad, or just another billionaire? Each episode BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist and podcaster Zing Tsjeng pick a billionaire and uncover their journey to the top. They learn how they made their money and what makes them tick, to find out what they tell us about our society. Millionaires are ten a penny these days, but billion

Aug 21, 2023 • 0:13

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