Carlos Wizard Martins of Brazil made international headlines in December when Pearson PSO -0.89% – the world’s largest book publisher and education company – bought language school chain Grupo Multi, which he founded, for $720 million in cash.
The Mormon Wizard has been under FORBES’ radar for quite some time. In 2011 FORBES asked Can Teaching Brazilians New Languages Turn ‘Wizard’ Into A Billionaire? At the time of the deal with Pearson, FORBES announced that Carlos Martins had not yet joined the prestigious club of the world’s billionaires.
Martins is the son of a truck driver and an Italian immigrant who left a steady job at a multinational company and risked all the money he had at the time to found a language school that became Grupo Multi.
Carlos Wizard Martins is supposed to be on a sabbatical year. However, expect the unexpected from a man that went from poverty to legally giving himself the middle name “Wizard” as a wink to his original school chain to now claiming the newest spot on FORBES World’s billionaire list.
