BRAZILLIONAIREs

One of the Financial Times’ best books of 2016, long-listed for the Business Book of the Year award

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

"[A] compelling tale of Brazil’s superrich, which deftly weaves lurid soap opera with high finance and outrageous political skulduggery." — James Hider, The Wall Street Journal

"If Piketty had been — instead of an economist — a reporter working to understand the world that extremes of inequality have made today, he … might well have chosen to focus on Brazil, as Alex Cuadros has done in his new book Brazillionaires … a propulsive and engaging portrait of modern Brazil." — Patrick Iber, The New Republic

“A wild, richly reported tale about Brazil’s recent economic rise and fall, and some of the biggest, most colorful characters in business in Brazil who now have a global reach.” — Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times

"Splendidly original ... Brazillionaires gets into the heart and soul of present-day Brazil while also explaining the country’s unresolved battles in overcoming poverty, corruption, racism, and a great deal more. Written with verve, as well as a merciless eye for the truth, Brazillionaires is as engaging as it is timely.” — Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che Guevara

“A clear-eyed and often funny travelogue through the operatic lives of the country’s ultra-wealthy and their baneful relationship with the state.” — John Paul Rathbone, Financial Times

“[An] enjoyable, deeply reported account of Brazil’s outsize collection of tycoons.” — Eduardo Porter, The New York Times Book Review

“In this excellent book [Cuadros] has managed to use billionaires to illuminate the lives of both rich and poor Brazilians, and all those in between.” — The Economist 

"Gripping from the first page.... [Cuadros is] just the right mix of knowledgeable insider, and arch, critical outsider." — Stephanie Nolen, Globe & Mail

“Alex Cuadros’s skillful reportage and vivid prose illuminate the ideology of the some of the richest people anywhere, providing a meditation on the meaning of wealth and inequality not only in Brazil but in the United States and around the world.” — Kim Phillips-Fein, author of Invisible Hands

"An incisive and entertaining romp through the follies of Brazilian wealth, power and hubris." — Mac Margolis, Bloomberg View

“Cinematic. You’re off to the races from the get-go, helicoptering into billionaire offices … tripping over $35,000 furniture in luxurious Rio penthouses … and living like a Western colonial on $1,000 a night dinners…. [The book] could be required reading for Brazilianists in academia and journalists interested in a country that has become one of the biggest burnouts in the Americas.” — Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes

"[A] capable and thorough examination…. The book chronicles the accumulation, entrenchment, maintenance, and expansion of the country’s largest fortunes and business empires.… [A] comprehensive portrait of Brazilian society, including the favelas." — Noah Kulwin, Bookforum

"Cuadros [is] a diligent and gifted reporter.... Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.” — Isabel Vincent, author of Gilded Lily

“Brazil’s shocking rise and even more shocking fall is one of the biggest stories of our young century. Alex Cuadros tells it through the stories of its billionaires — whose genius, hubris, and (in some cases) utter folly come through in vivid, human detail throughout this book.” — Brian Winter, co-author of The Accidental President of Brazil

“Brazillionaires is an essential guide to understanding modern Brazil: its ups and downs, its flaws and lasting allure. But what makes it exceptional is that it is also an exploration of wealth, what fuels our desire for it, and how it transforms us.” — Juliana Barbassa, author of Dancing with the Devil in the City of God

“From the grit of the Amazon rainforest to the lilting laughter of cocktail parties in the penthouse condos of São Paulo, Alex Cuadros brings all his journalistic and storytelling talents to bear in this important and highly readable book.” — Scott Wallace, author of The Unconquered

“Part memoir, part exposé, and part historical narrative, this fascinating look at wealth in Brazil is a strong debut.... Readers will be eager to see what topic Cuadros tackles next.” — Publishers Weekly