Chile, Sebastian Pinera | featured news

Billionaire Pinera takes power as quakes rattle Chile

Billionaire Pinera takes power as quakes rattle Chile

The ground shook and buildings swayed as billionaire Sebastian Pinera took over as Chile's president on Thursday, tasked with rebuilding after a massive earthquake killed hundreds just 12 days ago.

 

Chile's New President

Billionaire Sebastian Pinera was elected president of Chile yesterday, after a runoff election against former president Eduardo Frei. Pinera, who was a senator for eight years and ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005, ranked 701st among the world's billionaires in March 2009 with a net worth of $1 billion. He is likely worth much more than that now thanks to the soaring value of his most valuable holding, a 26% stake in Chile's national airline LAN, which was recently worth $1.5 billion.

 

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