The world’s first ethanol billionaire, Rubens Ometto Silveira Mello has seen his fortune decrease dramatically over the past year due to the decline of sugar and ethanol prices and rumors of a takeover of his company, Cosan S.A. Of course, $1.5 billion still ain’t bad.

Cosan is one of the world’s largest producers of ethanol, which they brew from sugar cane. Mello has been described as ‘the world’s first biofuel tycoon’. Cosan began way back in 1936, when Mello’s family established a sugarcane mill in Piracicaba, Brazil, outside Sao Paolo.

Tomorrow: #4- Frank Asbeck, SolarWorld