Good Bad Billionaire – Details, episodes & analysis

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw built a pharmaceutical empire after failing to get a job brewing beer. She also overcame gender bias to become India’s first self-made female billionaire. Her company Biocon is now Asia's biggest insulin producer. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow her story, from a childhood living on a brewery compound in Bangalore to adventures in Australia and Ireland. How did Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw go from extracting enzymes from papaya fruit to mass-manufacturing medicines and being named among Time magazine's most influential people in the world? She calls herself an accidental entrepreneur; Simon and Zing decide whether they think she’s good, bad or just another billionaire.

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George Soros escaped Nazi occupation in Hungary, before becoming one of the most successful investors in history. After making his name on Wall Street and setting up the hedge fund Quantum, he also become known as “the man who broke the Bank of England” after making a billion dollars in a day by “betting against” the pound. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track the incredible life of one of the world’s most polarising billionaires, and find out how the philanthropist became the target of countless conspiracy theories. According to Soros himself, he’s “a little good, a little bad”. Ultimately, Simon and Zing decide whether they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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How Bernie Ecclestone won control of Formula One, and how it all came crashing down. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace a unique rise and fall. From modest beginnings selling second hand cars, Ecclestone built Formula One into a one-man empire worth billions. How did he go from the very top to tax fraud, and is he good, bad, or just another billionaire?

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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How mining magnate Gina Rinehart amassed a $30 billion fortune to become Australia's richest person, but also earned a reputation for being highly litigious.

BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng uncover a woman who has taken legal action against her father's widow, her own biographer and the biggest mining company in the world, and who has been sued by her own children, twice.

They follow Rinehart's story from her outspoken father's discovery of huge deposits of iron ore in Western Australia to inheriting the business and turning it into a multi-billion dollar powerhouse. It's a story that takes in secessionist politics, indigenous land rights and lots and lots of family feuds.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

To find out more about the show and read our privacy notice, visit www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire

How oilman Charles Koch turned black gold into dark money. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng investigate the feuding family that has shaped US politics for decades. The Koch family battles made “Dallas and Dynasty look like a playpen” with brother against brother, and even twin against twin. But Charles Koch succeeded as heir to the oil fortune, and spent the billions earnt from oil creating a right wing political network dubbed 'The Kochtopus'. So is he good, bad or just another billionaire?

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack uncover the huge public feuds and private legal battles that made the most famous woman in the world. She can change the economy, but is Taylor Swift good, bad, or just another billionaire?

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How Warren Buffett became the richest investor in history, amassing a fortune of over $120 billion, without moving from the Nebraska home he bought in 1958.

BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng discover how Buffett earned his first money as a six year old, bought his first shares at 11 and filed his first tax return at 13. He went on to formulate his own investment philosophy on the way to becoming incredibly rich.

Simon and Zing reveal Buffett's biggest deals and pithiest phrases from his decades of investing, as well as his unconventional love life. Then they decide if he's good, bad, or just another billionaire.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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How NR Narayana Murthy, now known as the father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, first became known as the father of India's IT boom.

Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack explain how Murthy made Infosys, the technology company he founded with six friends and some cash borrowed from his wife, a world leader in outsourcing.

Simon and Zing reveal how 20th Century Indian politics, an early passion for computers, and a shocking experience behind the Iron Curtain all played a role in making Murthy spectacularly rich. Then they decide if he's good, bad, or just another billionaire.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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How Rupert Murdoch inherited an Australian newspaper and turned it into a global media empire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the origin story of the 92-year-old media magnate. He’s been called ‘evil’ and ‘a cancer’; for others, he’s the champion of the free press. He’s also one of the most powerful people on the planet. So which Rupert Murdoch is it: is he good bad, or just another billionaire?

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

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The story of Mexican drug lord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, the leader of one of the world’s most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels.

BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow El Chapo from childhood in the Mexican mountain region of Sinaloa to the very top of the drug business, and into the New York prison cell where he now resides.

Simon and Zing reveal how El Chapo innovated with tunnels along the US-Mexican border, escaped prison twice, and used extreme violence to gain power. Then they are given the simple task of deciding if he's good, bad, or just another billionaire.

We’d love to hear your feedback. Email goodbadbillionaire@bbc.com or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 (917) 686-1176.

To find out more about the show and read our privacy notice, visit www.bbcworldservice.com/goodbadbillionaire