Good Bad Billionaire
How did the richest people on the planet make their billions? From Selena Gomez to Jeff Bezos, and now we find out about five dead billionaires. Meet pioneers who helped build the United States of America: the world’s first billionaire John D Rockefeller, motor magnate Henry Ford, the aviator and filmmaker Howard Hughes, Walmart founder Sam Walton, and Hetty Green - once dubbed “The Witch of Wall Street”. These iconic billionaires may be long dead, but their fingerprints are all over modern industry - in business trusts, IPOs, and mass production. They did it all first, but how did they make their billions?
Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that analyses the minds, motives and money of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. Simon and Zing explore the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and success. From iconic celebrities and secretive CEOs to sporting legends and titans of technology, Simon and Zing find out how they made their money, and then it’s over to you to decide whether 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? Trawl through the archives to find out how Selena Gomez went from a child Disney star to a mega-magnate of makeup and how Martha Stewart, the “original lifestyle influencer” became one of the most successful women in business. We explore the life of British inventor James Dyson and learn about some of the big names behind Minecraft, Marvel, WWE and the ultimate reality TV show – Big Brother.
Join us on a global journey, discovering all we can about some of the richest people on the planet. In the United States, there are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. Hear about billionaires in Russia, China, New Zealand, India, Nigeria and the UK. Exploring the lives of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, El Chapo, Narayana Murthy and Kim Kardashian, this podcast paints a vivid picture of business, entrepreneurship, capitalism and how our world really works.
Discover how the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Peter Jackson, Doris Fisher and George Soros came to join the billionaires' club. Learn how Tiger Woods went from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete, how a communist mime artist became the boss of fashion house Prada and how Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich came to buy an English football club. Find out how Mukesh Ambani became Asia’s richest person, and how Patrice Motsepe became the first black billionaire in a post-apartheid South Africa. Plus, we examine some of the biggest names behind the technology shaping our world – the founders of TikTok, Google, ChatGPT, Alibaba and Bumble.
But it's not just how these billionaires made their money; it's what they did with it next. Ultimately, Simon and Zing will help you decide whether they’re a force for good, bad, or somewhere in between. Join Simon Jack, the business editor for BBC News, and journalist and author Zing Tsjeng as this podcast unravels tales of fortune, power, economics, ambition and moral responsibility, ultimately inviting you to make up your own mind: are they good, bad, or just another billionaire?
We’d love to hear your feedback. Email [email protected] or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176. To find out more about the show and read our privacy notice, visit www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 44 minutes
- Episodes
- 70
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
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…
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 brea…
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 …
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…
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 h…
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-p…
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 po…
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…
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 ch…
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 clima…
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 Simo…
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 Nige…
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 …
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 com…
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 no…
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 b…
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 wh…
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 jo…
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 Sim…
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 j…