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PODCAST

Good Bad Billionaire

BBC World Service

How did the richest people on the planet make their billions? Find out with the Good Bad Billionaire podcast - now with a chance for you to have your say. Make up your minds whether you think they are good, bad or just another billionaire.Latest episodes: Luciano Benetton and Elon Musk.In each episode of Good Bad Billionaire, BBC Business Editor Simon Jack and journalist and author Zing Tsjeng analyse the lives of the super-rich, and try to understand what motivates billionaires like Kim Kardashian

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

39:43

Ronnie Screwvala: The cable guy

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/03/02

Ronnie Screwvala changed the viewing habits of the world’s most populous country, India - but he started out selling toothbrushes. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng chart his journey, from knocking on apartment doors in 1980s Mumbai selling cable TV, to building a media empire that would transform Indian entertainment. Ronnie Screwvala launched the first Indian daily soap opera, the country’s most popular children’s channel, and a Hollywood-style film studio in Bollywood

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46:10

Larry Ellison: Winning the database wars

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/02/23

Larry Ellison’s business mantra is simple: “It is not sufficient that I succeed — everyone else must fail.” From humble beginnings as an adopted child in Chicago to becoming one of the richest men in history, BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace the relentless ascent of one of Silicon Valley’s most combative and controversial figures.After recognising the commercial potential of databases, Larry Ellison founded Oracle in the 1970s and spent the next two decades driving an

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47:57

Elizabeth Holmes: From CEO to criminal

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/02/16

Once hailed as the next Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire after founding Theranos, a startup that promised to revolutionise healthcare with hundreds of blood tests from a single drop. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace Elizabeth Holmes’s journey from precocious Stanford student to biotech entrepreneur, before unpacking how secrecy and hype masked a technology that couldn’t deliver. When Theranos collapsed spectacularly,

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34:39

Weekend listening: The Interface

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/02/14

Simon and Zing bring you a weekend listening recommendation: The Interface, the BBC's fiercely informed, fast and funny take on how tech is changing everything.Hosted by three leading tech journalists whose work covers every aspect of the subject, each episode unpacks week-by-week the unfolding story of how technology is shaping all our futures. No guests. No jargon. Just three sharp voices debating the tech news stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly

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38:56

Peggy Cherng: Engineering a fast-food fortune

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/02/09

Peggy Cherng never set out to work in fast food, but her engineering mindset transformed how millions of Americans eat. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Peggy Cherng’s journey: from electrical engineering and simulating battlefields, to co-founding Panda Express with her husband Andrew and becoming a billionaire. By applying data and rigorous standardisation, Peggy Cherng helped turn a single mall food-court experiment into the largest Chinese fast-food chain in the

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45:41

Ben Francis: UK’s youngest billionaire

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/02/02

How Ben Francis went from pizza delivery boy to the UK’s youngest billionaire, by founding sportswear brand Gymshark. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explore Ben Francis' remarkable rise: from sewing gym vests in his parents’ garage, to innovating in influencer culture. In Gymshark, Ben Francis created one of the fastest growing fitness brands in the world, with the ambition to take on athleisurewear giants like Nike and Adidas.Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that

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41:00

Lucy Guo: The woman training AI

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/01/26

She skateboards to work, has a skydiving license, and was the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC Business Editor Simon Jack tell the story of Lucy Guo and trace her trajectory to becoming one of the tech titans. From dropping out of college to join Peter Thiel’s Fellowship, to couch-surfing as a millionaire, they follow Lucy Guo's journey to found Scale AI, a company that trains artificial intelligence for giants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google, and

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16:36

Elon Musk: You decide!

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/01/23

It’s time to hear what you, our listeners, think of Elon Musk. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack read your feedback to our Elon Musk episode: do you think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire?Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics, and success. There are leaders who made their money in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street and in high street fashion. From iconic

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47:33

David Geffen: The Hollywood power broker

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/01/19

David Geffen is the money man behind Crosby, Stills and Nash, Guns N' Roses, Cher, Shrek, Gladiator, and even Cats the musical. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack tell the remarkable story of the Brooklyn boy who conquered Hollywood and became an entertainment mogul. From starting in a New York agency mailroom to the heart of Laurel Canyon’s hippie-rock scene, David Geffen rubbed shoulders with almost every major cultural figure of the 20th century. Joni Mitchel wrote a song

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42:12

Sara Blakely: Shaping the world with Spanx

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/01/12

Sara Blakely grew up in Florida and dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but after failing the LSAT twice, she pivoted to sales and later entrepreneurship. Frustrated by uncomfortable hosiery, Blakely cut the feet off her tights and sparked an idea that would change fashion. With no formal business training, she cold-called hosiery mills and landed her first big break with Neiman Marcus, then with the Oprah Winfrey show. Spanx went from a scrappy startup to a billion-dollar brand that reshaped celebrity

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41:06

Guy Laliberté: Cirque du Soleil’s clown turned CEO

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2026/01/05

Guy Laliberté went from busking on the streets of Quebec to entertaining Hollywood celebrities and wearing a clown nose on the International Space Station. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of the Cirque du Soleil founder, and how he turned his passion for parties into a billion-dollar entertainment empire.Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that explores the lives of the super-rich and famous, tracking their wealth, philanthropy, business ethics and

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55:27

Elon Musk: Money, memes and Mars

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/12/08

Elon Musk’s extraordinary rise, from a troubled childhood in apartheid-era South Africa to becoming the first person to amass half a trillion dollars. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng chart Elon Musk's journey to becoming a multi-billionaire entrepreneur: from tech giant PayPal, to revolutionising electric cars at Tesla, and launching rockets at SpaceX. But becoming the richest person in the world comes with plenty of boardroom drama and controversy. Good Bad Billionaire is

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41:25

Luciano Benetton: Famous fashion to cultural controversy

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/12/01

Luciano Benetton rose from poverty in postwar Italy to found a chain of 7,000 high street fashion stores and create some of the most controversial advertising campaigns in history, becoming a billionaire along the way.Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack discover how it all started for Luciano Benetton with a yellow sweater knitted by his sister, on a journey that takes in Benito Mussolini, Dolce Vita, Formula One, and Princess Diana. But Benetton wasn’t just about fashion;

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42:26

Tyler Perry: Homeless to Hollywood entrepreneur

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/11/24

From a childhood marked by abuse and trauma, Tyler Perry worked whatever jobs he could to fund his self-written and produced play for six years: sometimes performing to an audience of just one. But then success literally came calling for the future billionaire, and kick-started his rise in showbiz.Journalists Zing Tsjeng and Simon Jack explore how Tyler Perry’s faith, relentless work ethic, and deep understanding of his audience helped him defy critics and reshape Black entertainment. From the

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44:31

Lakshmi Mittal: King of steel

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/11/17

Lakshmi Mittal grew up in Kolkata, where he gained early experience in his father’s steel business before founding his own steel mill in Indonesia in his twenties. By adopting mini-mill technology and electric arc furnaces, Lakshmi Mittal produced steel more efficiently than traditional methods and began acquiring underperforming state-owned mills around the world, setting him on his path to becoming a billionaire.Journalists Zing Tsjeng and Simon Jack trace his journey of entrepreneurship from one

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48:55

Michael O’Leary: Ryanair’s cost-cutting king

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/11/10

How Michael O’Leary, the outspoken CEO of Ryanair, turned a struggling regional airline into a €28 billion powerhouse by relentlessly cutting costs and embracing controversy.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng uncover how O’Leary - who neither founded Ryanair nor intended to work in aviation - redefined the airline industry. Through radical cost-cutting, lightning-fast plane turnarounds, and headline-grabbing stunts, he transformed the company into a disruptive, ultra-low-cost

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38:56

Diane Hendricks: Building a fortune

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/11/03

Diane Hendricks rose from a teenage mother on a Wisconsin dairy farm to become America’s richest self-made woman, building a $22 billion fortune through roofing giant ABC Supply.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace her journey from selling homes to leading the largest roofing supplies company in the US. From renovating properties to reshaping her hometown of Beloit, Hendricks’ story is one of grit, ambition, and political influence.Good Bad Billionaire is the podcast that

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44:21

John Fredriksen: Tanker king

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/10/27

Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen once owned the world’s largest fleet of oil tankers. He made billions shipping goods round the globe and was unafraid of high-risk deals.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how Fredriksen began as a ship broker, then dabbled in oil trading, before entering the most profitable part of the oil trade – ship owning. Once known for rowdy parties and sending his ships into war zones, he reformed his reputation after an oil spill

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46:37

Evan Spiegel: Snapchat fratboy

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/10/20

Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel dropped out of Stanford Business School when the disappearing messages app made him a millionaire. Four years later, he was named the world’s youngest billionaire at 25.BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell Spiegel’s story, from shy schoolboy to partying teen, to tech titan, all in just a few years. Spiegel formed Snapchat with a fraternity buddy and their app soon spread around the world, but old emails and a lawsuit caused controversy.

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44:40

Tatyana Kim: Russia’s online retail queen

Good Bad Billionaire ·

2025/10/13

How Tatyana Kim went from working as an English teacher to running Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, and being Russia’s richest woman. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack piece together how Tatyana Kim built Wildberries into one of Russia’s leading online clothing retailers, before expanding into electronics, household goods and food. In 2024 Kim and Wildberries hit the headlines when armed men arrived at her offices, resulting in the fatal shooting of two security

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94 results

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