Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng find out how the richest people on the planet made their billions, and then they judge them. Are they good, bad, or just another billionaire?Good Bad Billionaire is here to lift the curtain on the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. Hosted by Simon Jack, Business Editor for BBC News, and journalist, author and podcaster Zing Tsjeng, this ground-breaking new series examines the rise of a different billionaire each week to answer the question: Are they good, bad, or just another billionaire?From Silicon Valley tech titans and secretive CEOS, to Wall Street moguls, pop stars and sporting legends, Simon and Zing will find out how these billionaires made their riches - from the very start to the very top. No detail is too small, no story too wild and no business deal too shady for them to uncover. How did Amazon boss Jeff Bezos launch one of the biggest corporations of the internet age? How did six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan make a fortune from product endorsements with sports giant Nike? How did Rihanna come to sign with Jay-Z and to found a beauty product empire? And how did Chuck Feeney earn the title of 'the James Bond of philanthropy'?With episodes examining Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, George Lucas and Kim Kardashian, these stories paint a vivid picture of business, entrepreneurship, capitalism and how our world really works.But it's not just about how these billionaires made their money; it's about what they did with it next. Simon and Zing put each on trial to find out: is this billionaire a force for good or an agent of chaos? Or perhaps somewhere in between.... Join our hosts each week as they unravel tales of fortune, power, ambition and moral responsibility, and invite you to weigh in on the verdict: Good, Bad, or Just Another Billionaire?
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 âthe man who broke the Bank of Englandâ after making a billion dollars in a day by âbetting againstâ the pound. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track the incredible life of one of the worldâs most polarising billionaires, and find out how the philanthropist became the target of countless conspiracy theories. According to Soros himself, heâs âa little good, a little badâ. Ultimately, Simon and Zing decide whether they think heâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 itâs what came next that made the real Jerry Seinfeld mega rich â 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 âinability to actâ all helped drive his spectacular success, before deciding if they think heâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 Jacksonâs 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 cinema's biggest hits. Simon and Zing look back at the life of a Wellywood legend, before deciding if they think heâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 runwayâs biggest brands. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Italian fashion designer turned her grandfatherâs shop into a fashion powerhouse. Alongside her husband, sheâs run her empire from Milan for over four decades, becoming known affectionately known as âthe master of uglyâ. Simon and Zing look back on her life before deciding if they think sheâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 historyâs biggest tech giants by building the planetâs most popular search engine. How did their technology startup become one of the world's biggest companies? Simon and Zing find out, before deciding if they think heâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 worldâs 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. Heâs an inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame, won the Masters five times, the PGA Championship four times and both the Open and the US Open three times, as well as helping the US win the Ryder Cup. High-profile sponsorship deals and business ventures made him a billionaire, but then came affairs, car crashes and scandal. Simon and Zing track the spectacular rise of this global sporting superstar, then decide if they think heâs good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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 investments from Peter Thiel and Bill Gates, they trace Zuckerberg's spectacular rise. Plus discover what was true and what was made up in David Fincher's film about him, The Social Network.
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?
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 cycling, sailing and, of course, football. Then they decide if he's good, bad, or just another billionaire.
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?
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 Australia to inheriting the business and turning it into a multi-billion dollar powerhouse. It's a story that takes in secessionist politics, indigenous land rights and lots and lots of family feuds.
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