Who Pays When India’s Billionaires Don’t Go Bust?

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Last month, the business empire ofEike Batista, once the world’s seventh-richest man and a mascotof economically resurgent Brazil, collapsed. The disaster oughtto focus our minds on the perils of credit-fueled economicgrowth and highly leveraged corporations not just in Brazil butalso in other BRICS countries.

Batista secured extraordinary loans and investments from agovernment bank against the promise of high productivity fromhis oil fields; he used taxpayers’ money to fund a lavishlifestyle for himself, with such plutocratic accessories as fastcars, yachts and a wife who was a former Playboy model. Hisdebt-fueled engine spluttered to a stop when his fields wereexposed as dry and his flagship oil company, OGX Petroleo & GasParticipacoes SA, was left with no cash to service debtsamounting to more than $5 billion.