The Most Famous

BUSINESSPEOPLE from Brazil

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This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Businesspeople. The pantheon dataset contains 847 Businesspeople, 8 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 15th most number of Businesspeople behind Canada, and Sweden.

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Brazilian Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of João Havelange

1. João Havelange (1916 - 2016)

With an HPI of 73.88, João Havelange is the most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 53 different languages on wikipedia.

Jean-Marie Faustin Godefroid "João" de Havelange (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒuˈɐ̃w aviˈlɐ̃ʒi], French: [ʒɑ̃ maʁi fostɛ̃ ɡɔdfʁwa də avlɑ̃ʒ]; 8 May 1916 – 16 August 2016) was a Brazilian lawyer, businessman, and athlete who was the seventh president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998. His tenure as president is the second longest in FIFA's history, behind that of Jules Rimet. He received the title of honorary president when leaving office, but resigned in April 2013. He was preceded by Stanley Rous and succeeded by Sepp Blatter. Havelange served as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1963 to 2011. He was the longest-serving active member upon his resignation. In July 2012, a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his tenure on FIFA's Executive Committee, he and his son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira took more than 41 million Swiss francs (£21m) in bribes in connection with the award of World Cup marketing rights.

Photo of Carlos Ghosn

2. Carlos Ghosn (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 68.72, Carlos Ghosn is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Carlos Ghosn (; French: [kaʁlɔs ɡon]; Arabic: كارلوس غصن; Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: ['kaːrlos 'ɣosˤn], born 9 March 1954) is a businessman and former automotive executive. He was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nissan, and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors. Ghosn began his professional career in 1978 at Michelin, Europe’s largest tire manufacturer. Over the course of 18 years at the company, he held a variety of leadership roles, including overseeing operations in South America. In 1999, following Renault's acquisition of a major stake in the struggling Japanese automaker Nissan, Ghosn moved to Japan to oversee its recovery. As chief operating officer, and later chief executive officer, he implemented a series of restructuring measures aimed at improving Nissan’s financial performance. Under his leadership, Nissan returned to profitability and strengthened its position in the global market. In 2005, Ghosn also became CEO of Renault, holding top executive roles at both companies simultaneously. In 2016, he additionally became chairman of Mitsubishi Motors after Nissan acquired a controlling interest in the company, further expanding his influence in the automotive sector. In 2018, he was arrested in Japan on suspicion of financial misconduct at Nissan, having been accused of understating his annual salary and misusing company funds. In 2019, while under house arrest awaiting trial, he escaped from Japan by concealing himself inside a large box, which was shipped as freight on a private jet.

Photo of Jorge Paulo Lemann

3. Jorge Paulo Lemann (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 61.19, Jorge Paulo Lemann is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Jorge Paulo Lemann (born August 26, 1939) is a Brazilian billionaire investment banker, businessman, and former tennis player with dual Brazilian and Swiss citizenship. Lemann co-founded investment firm 3G Capital, which owns brands such as Burger King, Tim Hortons, Anheuser-Busch and Heinz. He became the richest person in Brazil in March 2023, with a net worth of US$17 billion (R$86.1 billion).

Photo of Silvio Santos

4. Silvio Santos (1930 - 2024)

With an HPI of 59.37, Silvio Santos is the 4th most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Senor Abravanel (Hebrew: סניור אברבנאל; 12 December 1930 – 17 August 2024), known professionally as Silvio Santos, was a Brazilian television presenter and business magnate. Widely regarded as the greatest personality in Brazilian television, he was the founder of the television network Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT) and the conglomerate Grupo Silvio Santos, which holds interests in media and real estate among other assets. Throughout his life, he was also involved in other areas such as music and politics. His net worth was estimated at $1.3 billion in 2013, making him the only Brazilian celebrity on Forbes' billionaires list. Born in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, the former capital city of Brazil and former headquarters of the Federal District, Abravanel was the eldest son of a couple of Sephardic Jews who migrated to Brazil in 1924, Alberto Abravanel and Rebeca Caro. Working as a hawker, salesman, and also on the radio, Abravanel debuted on television in the early 1960s as the host of the variety show Vamos Brincar de Forca on TV Paulista (now part of TV Globo), adopting the stage name "Silvio Santos". In 1963, he began hosting Programa Silvio Santos, which would become one of the longest-running programs on Brazilian television. In 1976, amid creative conflicts with Globo executives, Silvio entered the broadcasting industry himself by launching a new television station in Rio known as TVS, and purchasing a 50% stake in Rede Record, moving Programa Silvio Santos to the two outlets and Rede Tupi. When Tupi was closed by Brazil's military dictatorship, Silvio's company acquired several of the former network's licenses, and joined with TVS to form a new national network known as SBT; the network would target lower middle class and working class viewers. In September 2022, Silvio took time off in television by as host of Programa Silvio Santos (being succeeded by his daughter Patricia Abravanel), and stepping down as vice president of SBT in 2023. In July 2024, he was hospitalized with H1N1 and was discharged two days later. After being hospitalized again with the same disease, he died of bronchopneumonia on 17 August 2024, at the age of 93. Silvio was buried on the morning of 18 August, at the Butantã Israelite Cemetery, in São Paulo. Silvio had six daughters, fourteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. In his first marriage, to Maria Aparecida Vieira, most known as Cidinha, he had his first two daughters, Cintia (mother of actor Tiago Abravanel) and Silvia. The couple was together until 1977 when Cidinha died of cancer. Santos married for the second time to Íris Abravanel in 1981, with whom he remained until the end of his life and had four other daughters, Daniela, Patricia, Rebeca and Renata. Santos received several awards and honors, including almost thirty Imprensa trophies, sixteen Internet trophies and ten Roquette Pinto trophies, in addition to being honored with the Order of Merit for Communication by former president Dilma Rousseff and honored by carnival blocks.

Photo of Eduardo Saverin

5. Eduardo Saverin (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 57.03, Eduardo Saverin is the 5th most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Eduardo Luiz Saverin ( SAV-ər-in, Brazilian Portuguese: [eduˈaʁdu luˈis saveˈɾĩ] ; born March 19, 1982) is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor, known for having co-founded Facebook. In 2012, he owned about 2% of Facebook shares, valued at approximately $2 billion at the time. Based in Singapore, he is the co-founder and co-CEO of the venture capital firm B Capital, and has also invested in early-stage startups such as Qwiki and Jumio. Saverin is the wealthiest Brazilian, with an estimated net worth of US$38.3 billion as of June 2025, according to Forbes, and the 44th richest individual in the world. His current net worth reportedly makes him the wealthiest person in Singapore.

Photo of Eike Batista

6. Eike Batista (b. 1956)

With an HPI of 55.47, Eike Batista is the 6th most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Eike Fuhrken Batista da Silva (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈajk(i) ˈfuʁkẽj baˈtʃistɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ]; born 3 November 1956) is a Brazilian-German serial entrepreneur who made and lost a multi-billion dollar fortune in mining and oil and gas industries. He engaged in a quest to promote Brazil's infrastructure with large-scale projects, such as the Porto do Açu. He was chairman of Brazilian conglomerate EBX Group, which was formerly the parent company of five companies traded on the BOVESPA's Novo Mercado, a special segment of the São Paulo stock market. These five companies were: OGX (oil and gas), MPX (energy), LLX (logistics), MMX (mining), and OSX (offshore services and equipment). Nowadays, EBX advises new startup companies and tries to rebuild itself again. In 2024, on the Market Makers podcast, Eike introduced a new biotech startup called BRX.[2] In early 2012, Batista's net worth was estimated at US$35 billion, ranking him as the seventh richest person in the world, and the richest in Brazil. By July 2013, his wealth had plummeted to $200 million due to his debts and declines in his companies' stock values. Bloomberg reported in January 2014, that Batista had a negative net worth. Forbes and Folha de São Paulo quoted Batista in September 2014, stating that his net worth was –$1 billion. Batista is currently under house arrest after being sentenced to 30 years in prison for several offences, including bribing disgraced Rio de Janeiro governor Sérgio Cabral Filho, in order to secure public contracts.

Photo of Mike Krieger

7. Mike Krieger (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 45.43, Mike Krieger is the 7th most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Michel Krieger (born March 4, 1986) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and software engineer who co-founded Instagram along with Kevin Systrom, and served as its CTO. During Krieger's tenure as CTO, Instagram's user base expanded from a few million to 1 billion monthly active users. On September 24, 2018, it was announced that Krieger and Systrom were resigning from Instagram. In May 2024, Krieger announced that he had joined Anthropic as its Chief Product Officer.

Photo of Ivan Monteiro

8. Ivan Monteiro (b. 0)

With an HPI of 32.64, Ivan Monteiro is the 8th most famous Brazilian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 3 different languages.

Ivan de Souza Monteiro (born 1960, in Manaus) is a Brazilian electronic engineer, former president of the oil state company Petrobras. Previously, Monteiro was CFO of the company. Before heading Petrobras, Monteiro worked in Banco do Brasil.

People

Pantheon has 8 people classified as Brazilian businesspeople born between 1916 and 1986. Of these 8, 6 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Brazilian businesspeople include Carlos Ghosn, Jorge Paulo Lemann, and Eduardo Saverin. The most famous deceased Brazilian businesspeople include João Havelange, and Silvio Santos. As of April 2024, 8 new Brazilian businesspeople have been added to Pantheon including João Havelange, Carlos Ghosn, and Jorge Paulo Lemann.

Living Brazilian Businesspeople

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Deceased Brazilian Businesspeople

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Newly Added Brazilian Businesspeople (2024)

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