The number of zeros involved in this story are extreme, but the human errors of over-concentration, hubris, failure to understand the mean reverting nature of cycles and a lack of risk management rules are actually very common and offer a teachable moment for everyone.
Brazilian commodity baron Eike Batista lost 99 percent of his personal fortune over the past 2 years, falling from a net worth of $35 billion to an estimated $200 million (so far) today. In this sense, it turns out Fitzgerald was wrong, the rich–even the richest in the world–aren’t that different after all. Here is a direct video link.
Here is another link.
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