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...

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?

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...

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...

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?

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...