Andre Esteves is a Brazilian banker with an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion as of May 2015 according to Forbes. He is the 14th richest person in Brazil and 329th in the world. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1969, he studied mathematics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Esteves began earning his estimated net worth of $4 billion in 1989, while still studying. He joined the investment bank Pactual when he was hired by banker, Luis Cesar Fernandes, as an intern in the IT Department. Despite the hyperinflation experienced in Brazil, he worked his way up as an ace trader. He was promoted in 1990 to the operator’s fixed income desk bench area which turned into a major source of bank profits in 1995. He became one of the five partners of the bank. He assumed the command of the business in 1999 following the sale of shares of Fernandes who was indebted in other business.
Andre Esteves became a billionaire in 2006 after he sold Pactual to Swiss bank UBS for $3.1 billion which formed the Brazilian subsidiary UBS Pactual. He was named the president in the Latin America area. In 2007, he was promoted to the head of global fixed income division. He left the firm in 2008 and founded BTG, an investment and asset management company. UBS Pactual was sold to BTG in 2009. He became the chief executive officer and controlling shareholder of BTG Pactual, a multinational investment bank, which has more than $60 billion in assets under management. It employs more than 1,500 professionals with offices in Brazil, Chile, Peru, Colombia, United States, United Kingdom and China.