Two young Brazilians on Forbes’ list of billionaires, Amazon x Starlink and what matters in the market

​ANDsta is the edition of the FolhaMercado newsletter for this Wednesday (6). want to receive it from monday to Friday at 7 am In your email? Sign up below.

Brazilian under-30s on the Forbes list

Brazilians Pedro Franceschi, 25, and Henrique Dubugras, 26, joined Forbes’ list of billionaires updated by the magazine this Tuesday (5th). Another newcomer who deserves to be highlighted in this select group is the singer Rihanna.

Who is who: Franceschi, from Rio, and Dubugras, from São Paulo, are the founders of Brex, a corporate card for startups. The fortune of each was estimated by the magazine in US$ 1.5 billion (almost R$ 7 billion).

• The two were already considered prodigies back then, when they created the payment company Pagar.me, in 2013, and, in less than a year, they managed to capture BRL 1 million in investments, as shown in this report by the sheet in season.
• According to Forbes, the two met on Twitter and had in common a talent for programming. Franceschi, for example, made Siri (the iPhone’s virtual assistant) understand Portuguese before Apple made the language available.
• In 2016, Pagar.me was sold to payments giant Stone, and the two went to Stanford, from where they interrupted their graduation to dedicate themselves fully to Brex, created in Silicon Valley.
• Last week, Brex, which now also has midsize companies as clients, announced a US$ 300 million (R$ 1.4 billion), which valued it at US$ 12.3 billion (R$ 57 billion).
• The startup promises agility to access financial services and performs credit analysis based on the evaluation of investors’ profile and cash flow, for example, instead of demanding personal guarantees from entrepreneurs.

Other highlights from the Forbes ranking:

Top 5: the richest in the world, according to Forbes:

1. Elon Musk -US$ 219 billion (R$ 1 trillion)
2. Jeff Bezos – US$ 171 billion (R$ 789.4 billion)
3. Bernard Arnault and family – US$ 158 billion (R$ 729.4 billion)
4. bill Gates – US$ 129 billion (R$ 595 billion)
5. Warren Buffett – US$ 118 billion (R$ 544.7 billion)

Amazon joins the satellite internet fight

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled its plans to launch thousands of low-altitude satellites into space.

Understand: the objective is to offer broadband internet to millions of people, and at first the priority is for regions that still do not have access to the network.

Over time, the idea of ​​the companies – Elon Musk’s SpaceX is another that invests in the area – is to create a constellation of these satellites, which would spread around the planet.

In numbers: contracts signed by Amazon provide for up to 83 launches in five years to put most of its 3,236 satellites. According to the company, it is the largest rocket order in history.

The company formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin, by Jeff Bezos, who left the presidency but still whistles at Amazon, and the French company Arianespace are involved in the project.

SpaceX at the front: Musk’s company has already put 2,000 of the 18 thousand satellites planned to create the Starlink internet network, which sells services in many countries. The idea is that it will be completed in 2029, and for that, $30 billion (R$ 139 billion).

• In February, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the first shipment of Starlink’s satellite internet terminals reached the Ukrainian government to provide connectivity in conflict areas.
• The technology is also being used by Ukrainian drones that monitor Russian troop movements, according to the British newspaper The Times.

It’s in Brazil? Earlier this year, Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) approved the right to explore satellites for SpaceX and its competitor Swarm.

In November 2021, the Brazilian government and Musk’s company closed an agreement to offer internet in remote areas of Brazil.

Brazilian executives optimistic about the metaverse

Brazilian executives are more optimistic about the impact of the metaverse on their businesses than Americans or Europeans, according to a survey carried out by consultancy Accenture.

in numbers: of high-ranking Brazilian professionals consulted, 78% claim that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their business. The survey interviewed 4,650 executives in 35 countries.

What explains: Among the reasons for this optimism, according to Accenture, is the large share of young people in the population and also the interest of Brazilians in mobile devices and online life. Connection issues, however, should be obstacles.

Understand: the metaverse has the proposal to mix virtual reality and the real world and has also become fertile ground for brands and investors who don’t want to miss the wave.

About the metaverse, the sheet already showed:

More about digital assets:

The NFT bubble is not bursting, but there may have been a leak.

Sales on OpenSea, the largest trading market for these assets, reached almost $5 billion in January. It was a giant leap from the previous year’s $8 million, but then they dropped to around $8 million. $2.5 billion last month.

Up to 62% more expensive airline tickets

As expected given the rise in oil prices, airline tickets have become more expensive in the country in recent weeks.

From January, before the war, to March, their average price rose to 62% in Brazil, according to a survey by Kayak, a company specialized in travel search.

What explains: aviation kerosene represents a good part of the costs of airlines and its price is also linked to international oil prices.

In numbers: among the 20 most searched national routes, flights to Brasília were the ones that suffered the biggest readjustment (62%), according to the survey, which considers flights originating throughout the country until December 31, 2022.

Following the ranking of domestic flight price increases are Florianópolis (51%), Sao Paulo (49%), Navigators (49%) and Rio de Janeiro (47%).