Eike Batista

Eike Batista, Brazil's richest man, is riding high on oil fever. His oil and gas driller, OGX Petroleo e Gas, produced its first oil in a test well offshore in late January; his 61% stake in the company is worth $19.8 billion, two-thirds of his net worth. The bombastic entrepreneur is also betting on his former passion, gold: In February 2011 he spent $1.5 billion to take private Canadian-listed Ventana Gold, which owns what he says is an incredibly promising mine in Colombia. Batista vows to one day overtake Carlos Slim of Mexico as the world's richest man. He's got quite a ways to go to catch up.