Brazilian brothers behind JBS are out of jail and worth $6 billion The revival of Joesley and Wesley Batista is a testament to bare-knuckles political deal making, ruthless efficiency while pivoting to plant-based alternatives and eyeing a U.S. listing. By Felipe Marques and James Attwood Bloomberg News July 23, 2021 — 8:54pm Text size Copy shortlink: Just under four years ago, brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista were in Brazilian prison cells with concrete bunk beds, their multibillion-dollar meat empire near collapse in one of the world's biggest corporate corruption scandals. Today, they're not only free men but their company, JBS, is worth three times what it was then, operates in 20 countries and controls a quarter of U.S. beef processing. The brothers, worth $5.8 billion, hold stakes in companies with $28 billion in assets, towering over all other meat barons.