Simon Jack

Wesley and Joesley Batista built JBS from their father's Goiás butcher shop into the world's largest meat producer through aggressive acquisitions financed substantially by Brazil's BNDES. Their rise was overshadowed by Operation Car Wash, during which they admitted distributing roughly $200 million in bribes to politicians and implicated senior Brazilian officials. A mistaken email attachment exposed concerns about their plea deal, leading to their arrests for suspected insider trading and market manipulation, although they later regained control and were cleared by Brazil's securities regulator. JBS continued to prosper, entered the New York Stock Exchange in 2025, and the brothers' fortunes reached about $5.7 billion each. The company and its owners also gained renewed political and diplomatic influence, including contacts with Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Their resurgence has been accompanied by allegations involving child labor, modern slavery, animal cruelty and Amazon deforestation, underscoring the article's conclusion that immense wealth can preserve access and influence despite serious scandals.

Thames Water’s lenders are preparing a legal challenge should the incoming Burnham government move to nationalise the utility. Creditors previously offered to write off nearly half of the firm’s £20bn debt in exchange for leniency on pollution fines, a proposal rejected as insufficient. Government officials say they remain ready for any outcome, including temporary or full nationalisation, amid concerns over longstanding underperformance and financial instability. Labour figures have signalled openness to greater public control of water utilities, increasing the likelihood of intervention. Either nationalisation or a special administration process could leave taxpayers liable for significant funding needs as Thames Water faces a projected £2bn cash shortfall by next year.