Last updated July 16, 2024 – 4:16 p.m.
The second season of BBC World Service podcast “Good Bad Billionaire” is starting, shining the spotlight on a new cast of celebrities.
Hosted by BBC News Business Editor Simon Jack and journalist, author and podcaster Jing Zeng, the show looks at how the richest people on the planet made their billions of dollars and decides whether you think they're 'good', 'bad' or just plain billionaires.
The podcast explores the minds, motivations and huge amounts of money behind the world's richest people, from celebrities and secretive CEOs to sports legends and Silicon Valley tech titans.
The new series will cover how Tiger Woods went from child prodigy to the world's highest-paid athlete, how a communist mime became president of fashion house Prada and how hedge fund tycoon George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to become one of the most successful investors in history.
It also explores how a mining magnate became South Africa's first black billionaire after apartheid, and how the head of an Indian multinational conglomerate built Asia's largest fortune.
Simon and Jingu look at the big names behind the technologies shaping our world: the founders of TikTok, Google, ChatGPT, Alibaba, and Bumble.
How did Chinese social media app Tik Tok become a multi-billion dollar business and take the social media world by storm? How did ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman make $1 billion investing in tech startups like Reddit and Airbnb? And how did Google founder Sergey Brin build the most popular search engine on the planet and shape the internet?
Jing Zeng said: “You can tell a lot about a person by following their money and how they made it, so I'm really excited to be back with Simon and explore some more incredible stories of the ultra-rich.”
“Since we last aired, many more people have joined the billionaire league, so we've got plenty to talk about! We're having a lot of fun reuniting with Simon for the new season of BBC World Service and can't wait for listeners to get involved.”
Simon Jack added: “Since the last series there are now 141 more billionaires on the planet, and with this number growing every year, now is the perfect time to shine a light on the world's wealthiest people and assess whether they are using their power for good.”
“In season two, expect even more scandal and intrigue that will question why a few people have more love than billions of others.”
Season two of Good Bad Billionaire will consist of 20 episodes and will begin on 29 July. New episodes will be available every Monday where you get your podcasts, and you can listen to the latest episodes a week early on BBC Sounds.
