Best Bravo New Zealand Podcasts (2025)

1
LeBron James: King of the court 48:18

5d ago48:18

48:18

LeBron James was selling out basketball arenas while still in high school. At just 18, he said he was offered a $10 million cheque from Reebok - on the spot - if he agreed not to meet any other brands. It was a life-changing sum for a teenager living with his mum in the projects. But LeBron turned it down. He was willing to hedge his bets. He’s won…

1
Masayoshi Son: High-tech gambler 44:47

12d ago44:47

44:47

Investor Masayoshi Son became notorious for making huge bets on technology companies. He once lost 96% of his fortune, but he’s still a billionaire thanks to successes like Yahoo! and Alibaba. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the tale of the billionaire who founded the conglomerate SoftBank and was once, very briefly, …

1
Strive Masiyiwa: Connecting a continent 42:00

19d ago42:00

42:00

Telecoms magnate Strive Masiyiwa escaped kidnap to become Zimbabwe’s first billionaire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell Masiyiwa’s story from a youth fleeing post-colonial conflict, through education in the UK, to enormous wealth delivering mobile phone and internet technology across Africa. The podcast that tells tal…

1
Ike Perlmutter: Marvel’s empire builder 46:34

26d ago46:34

46:34

Former Marvel CEO & Chairman Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter brought Marvel back from the brink of ruin and helped launch the Marvel cinematic universe. He brought Iron Man, The Hulk and The Avengers to our screens, and arguably changed the future of cinema, with a fixation on franchises. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng delve into …

1
Selena Gomez: Actress, singer, beauty mogul 47:30

1M ago47:30

47:30

Selena Gomez is one of the youngest newly minted billionaires, thanks to her Rare Beauty brand. But you likely know her from her Disney kid days on The Wizards of Waverly Place, award-winning turn in Only Murders in the Building, or as the chart-topping singer of Lose You to Love Me. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us…

1
Orlando Bravo: Tech dealmaker 46:31

1M ago46:31

46:31

Orlando Bravo failed to become a tennis pro, but became richer than any tennis player in history by pivoting to the world of finance. He’s the first billionaire from Puerto Rico and earned his fortune with private equity investments in technology. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of an investor who says that …

1
Vince McMahon: Wrestling's ringmaster 48:39

2M ago48:39

48:39

Vince McMahon made stars out of wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, John Cena and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He turned professional wrestling into a $6.8 billion industry with his company World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Vince capitalised on cross-promotion and the spectacle of what he called "sports entertainment" to reach huge audiences before he step…

1
Markus Persson: Minecraft maker 46:13

2M ago46:13

46:13

Minecraft is the most successful computer game ever. It's sold 300 million copies, built an active community of fans and there's now even a Minecraft movie. So how did one man - Markus Persson - create it all by himself, before selling it for billions? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out how a high school dropout, obs…

1
John de Mol: Big Brother’s daddy 41:07

2M ago41:07

41:07

By reinventing reality TV, John de Mol changed television history and made a billion dollars. He’s the father of Big Brother and the man behind The Voice, Deal or No Deal and Fear Factor. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Dutch TV producer became a media tycoon, after using his showbiz connections to break in…

1
Sir James Dyson: Sucking up the cash 46:26

2M ago46:26

46:26

A blocked vacuum cleaner led to a billion-dollar idea for British inventor Sir James Dyson. After studying art, then reinventing the wheelbarrow, Dyson struck gold with his iconic bagless vacuum, but only after years of effort. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us back to the entrepreneur’s youth in post-War Norfolk and…

1
Martha Stewart: The original lifestyle influencer 51:15

2M ago51:15

51:15

Martha Stewart revolutionised home entertaining with her recipes, home decor and TV shows, becoming one of the world's most successful women in business. Known as the ultimate homemaker and the "original lifestyle influencer", she's also the USA’s first ever self-made female billionaire. But while the entrepreneur made her fortune as a domestic god…

1
Encore - Chuck Feeney: All duty 38:27

3M ago38:27

38:27

When Charles "Chuck" Feeney first appeared on the world's rich lists in the 1980s, he had built a billion-dollar business selling duty free goods to tourists. But he'd also given most of his money to charity. As Good Bad Billionaire takes a short break until March, Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng revisit the story of the billionaire who wasn't. Feeney's…

1
Encore - Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics 53:02

4M ago53:02

53:02

A year after first being declared a billionaire, Taylor Swift’s rarely been out of the headlines or the charts. The pop superstar’s Eras tour finally came to an end, and she’s been continuing to break records. Good Bad Billionaire will be back with a new season in March, but until then, here’s a quick update on what Taylor’s been up to and another …

1
Peter Thiel: Paypal mafioso 46:49

6M ago46:49

46:49

What do Airbnb, Facebook, Spotify, and LinkedIn all have in common? Peter Thiel. They made his fortune, but he’s since rejected Silicon Valley for being too "woke". He’s a contradictory character: a libertarian who made billions from big state surveillance; an intellectual who purports to hate politics, but who’s poured millions into political camp…

1
Doris Fisher: Don’t mind The Gap 42:27

6M ago42:27

42:27

The woman behind the brand that revolutionised the way the world shopped and dressed. Doris Fisher and her husband Don founded The Gap together and made basics cool – their pocket t-shirt was worn by both Mick Jagger at Live Aid and Marty McFly in Back to the Future, while Sharon Stone donned a $25 Gap black turtleneck for the Oscars. Simon Jack an…

1
Carlos Slim Helú: Telecom titan 46:14

6M ago46:14

46:14

Carlos Slim Helú's financial might has led some people to nickname his native Mexico ‘Slimlandia’. He dominates the country’s businesses, from telecoms to construction. But how did a man whose hero happens to be the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan get to be the richest person in the world? Many have blamed his monopolist business empire for Mexico’s sl…

1
Roman Abramovich: Premier League oligarch 40:21

7M ago40:21

40:21

Roman Abramovich was known as the "stealth oligarch" before he stepped into the limelight as Chelsea football club’s sugar daddy owner. The man loves a yacht: his largest cost $427m, and has bullet-proof windows and an escape submarine. Abramovich made his fortune from post-Soviet privatisation, aided by a man known as the “Godfather of the Kremlin…

1
Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s richest person 42:35

7M ago42:35

42:35

Mukesh Ambani caught the world’s attention when he forked out $600m on his son’s wedding, including a performance by Rihanna – but how did he become Asia’s richest person? Mukesh grew his father’s polyester trading company, Reliance Industries, into a conglomerate. But when he died without a will, Mukesh had to fight his brother for control of the …

1
Patrice Motsepe: Mining magnate 40:43

7M ago40:43

40:43

Metal man and football fan Patrice Motsepe rose out of post-apartheid South Africa to become the country’s first black billionaire. Under apartheid, Patrice had to get a special permit to study at an ‘whites-only’ university - the same that Nelson Mandela attended in the 1940s - becoming a lawyer before following the gold into the mines. When the r…

1
Jack Ma: China's ecommerce CEO 43:08

7M ago43:08

43:08

Jack Ma is the king of ecommerce in China. Nicknamed 'Daddy Ma', the former school teacher even appeared alongside martial arts legend Jet Li in a kung fu movie. But how did a scrawny, belligerent child, who was the only person who failed to get hired at his local KFC, become the chairman and CEO of online mega-platform Alibaba? BBC business editor…

1
Yvon Chouinard: A $3 billion giveaway 47:31

8M ago47:31

47:31

The story of how Yvon Chouinard, a reluctant billionaire who only wanted to climb and surf, harnessed his passions to create outdoor apparel brand Patagonia - before giving it all away to fight climate change. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng discover how the self-proclaimed "existential dirtbag" went from jumping freight t…

1
Whitney Wolfe Herd: Dating app entrepreneur 42:18

8M ago42:18

42:18

Whitney Wolfe Herd, the “queen of the swipes”, launched a female-led dating app after a public scandal around her sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against Tinder. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng follow her story from a popular student with a flair for marketing, to carving her own path in the male-dominated tec…

1
Aliko Dangote: Africa’s richest person 38:28

8M ago38:28

38:28

Industrialist Aliko Dangote is known as a mild-mannered cement tycoon who often drives himself to business meetings. How did he become the world’s richest black person? Dangote rapidly dominated Nigeria’s cement, sugar, flour and fertiliser markets. He says his mission is to make Nigeria’s economy self-reliant, without requiring Western investment …

1
Sam Altman: ChatGPT and the AI revolution 45:48

8M ago45:48

45:48

How is freshly minted billionaire Sam Altman shaping our future through his company OpenAI and ChatGPT? He made his fortune by investing in huge tech start-ups like Reddit and Airbnb, before turning his attention to artificial intelligence - being fired and re-hired by his own company in the process. Altman believes that OpenAI, with him in charge,…

1
Zhang Yiming: TikTok’s tech boss 46:55

9M ago46:55

46:55

How did an unassuming software engineer become one of the richest people on the planet? This is the story of how Zhang Yiming transformed social media by creating TikTok, and how the Chinese tech company ByteDance became a multi-billion dollar business. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explore Yiming’s various successes wit…

1
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Beer, brewing and biotech 34:01

9M ago34:01

34:01

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 com…

1
George Soros: 'The man who broke the Bank of England' 45:34

9M ago45:34

45:34

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 Simo…

1
Jerry Seinfeld: The World’s Richest Comedian 36:56

9M ago36:56

36:56

Jerry Seinfeld has a life-long obsession with jokes, but his smash hit sitcom turned the New York stand-up into the richest comedian of all time. Seinfeld was the most watched programme in America when it ended in in 1998, but it’s what came next that made the real Jerry Seinfeld mega rich – streaming and syndication. Simon Jack and Zing Tsjeng fin…

1
Peter Jackson: Lord of the Films 46:21

10M ago46:21

46:21

How did Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson become one of only four filmmakers worth a billion dollars, and one of just three billionaires from New Zealand? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng find out how a childhood obsession with movies led to a booming film industry in Jackson’s homeland. From Bad Taste to King Kong a…

1
Miuccia Prada: ‘Ugly fashion’ 40:37

10M ago40:37

40:37

How a communist mime artist became the billionaire boss of a luxury fashion house. Miuccia Prada changed her name, then made it famous with one of the runway’s biggest brands. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how the Italian fashion designer turned her grandfather’s shop into a fashion powerhouse. Alongside her husb…

1
Sergey Brin: Googling billions 47:27

10M ago47:27

47:27

By founding Google, tech titan Sergey Brin helped shape the internet. He also got very, very rich, as his company Alphabet became one of the biggest in the world. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng tell the story of the billionaire who partied on planes after escaping prejudice in Russia. Sergey Brin and his best friend Larry…

1
Tiger Woods: Golf’s ‘golden boy’ 40:07

10M ago40:07

40:07

Golfing superstardom made him incredibly rich. Personal disasters nearly took it all away. How did Tiger Woods go from a child golfing prodigy to the world’s highest paid athlete for a whole decade? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng explain how one of the greatest golfers of all time broke barriers in his sport, winning 15 m…

1
Mark Zuckerberg: Move fast and get rich 56:50

1y ago56:50

56:50

How one social media site birthed an empire. The story of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng take us from Zuckerberg's childhood to joining the billionaires' club at just 23, then on to his current status as one of the four richest people on the planet. He dropped out of Harvard to mix with other…

1
Sir Richard Branson: Sky's the limit 48:34

1y ago48:34

48:34

From The Exorcist to 400 companies: how music sent Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson into space. He's an island owning adventurer, but he's incredibly shy. He's the record label owner who doesn't even like music. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack try to understand a man of many paradoxes and ask whether he's good, bad, or …

1
Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Man U mogul 48:25

1y ago48:25

48:25

He's spent a billion on Manchester United, but how did Jim Ratcliffe become a billionaire? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng learn how the Premier League club's new co-owner got rich via some daring investments and impressive acquisitions. They explain how he made his name in petrochemicals before founding Ineos, one of the …

1
Bernie Ecclestone: Fast money 50:05

1y ago50:05

50:05

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,…

1
Gina Rinehart: The other Iron Lady 50:48

1+ y ago50:48

50:48

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,…

1
Charles Koch: Dark money’s slick operator 38:28

1+ y ago38:28

38:28

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 hei…

1
Taylor Swift: Swiftonomics 53:48

1+ y ago53:48

53:48

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? We’d love to hear your feedback. Email [email protected] or drop us a text or WhatsApp to +1 …

1
Warren Buffett: The oracle of Omaha 54:58

1+ y ago54:58

54:58

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 w…

1
NR Narayana Murthy: India's IT innovator 53:03

1+ y ago53:03

53:03

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 outsourcin…

1
Rupert Murdoch: The Succession prequel 52:26

1+ y ago52:26

52:26

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 pla…

1
El Chapo: Cocaine kingpin 50:48

1+ y ago50:48

50:48

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…

1
Jay-Z: A business, man 52:31

1+ y ago52:31

52:31

How hip-hop’s first billionaire went from grams to Grammys. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack chart Jay-Z's meteoric rise from drug dealing in the projects to sipping champagne in a private jet. Jay-Z turned his aspirational lifestyle into cash, rapping about the champagne that he owned. And the private jet? A gift from his …

1
Michael Bloomberg: Market master 49:03

1+ y ago49:03

49:03

How did being fired from Wall Street lead Michael Bloomberg to a $96 billion fortune and a failed presidential campaign? Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack try to understand this man of contradictions. A brash playboy and thoughtful data nerd, a lifelong Democrat who became the Republican mayor of New York, a plutocrat who sp…

1
Patrick Soon-Shiong: Cures for cash 39:56

1+ y ago39:56

39:56

Why was biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong sued by his brother... and Cher? BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace his journey from apartheid South Africa to the upper echelons of LA society. He’s tried to cure cancer, diabetes, and Covid-19, and along the way rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful people on t…

1
Bill Gates: Software hardman 1:00:58

1+ y ago1:00:58

1:00:58

Microsoft boss Bill Gates spent more than a decade as the richest person in the world, after becoming the youngest self-made billionaire in history. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack follow his journey from venerated, nerdy entrepreneur to ruthless monopolist, then from generous philanthropist to conspiracy theory magnet and…

1
Sam Bankman-Fried with Michael Lewis 59:23

1+ y ago59:23

59:23

The spectacular rise and incredible fall of crypto empire FTX and its unconventional founder, Sam Bankman-Fried - a billionaire wannabe philanthropist now facing decades behind bars. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack could not resist inviting special guest Michael Lewis (author of Liar's Poker, Moneyball and The Big Short) t…

1
Denise Coates: Ultimate gambler 46:12

1+ y ago46:12

46:12

How did an accountant from Stoke-on-Trent gamble it all to become the world's highest paid woman? Denise Coates founded online betting company Bet365 and soon became a billionaire. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng trace the journey of this elusive figure. Geographically she's not travelled far, becoming the biggest employer…

1
Michael Jordan: Most valuable player 52:39

1+ y ago52:39

52:39

How did basketball's biggest superstar become the world's first athlete billionaire? Michael Jordan turned his prodigious talent on the court into a money-making machine. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Jordan's career from his childhood in North Carolina, through brilliance as a college basketball player, to his all…

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