Woods Staton

Thanks to billionaire Woods Staton, the Golden Arches is fast becoming as ubiquitous in Latin America as Starbucks in Seattle. After paying the mega-burger-slinger $700 million, Staton's company Arcos Dorados (which means "Golden Arches" in Spanish) holds the rights to operate McDonald's restaurants and owns 1,775 in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Carribbean, from Mexico to Ecuador to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In June 2011, Staton added another jewel to his portfolio, winning the rights to operate in Trinidad and Tobago. The burger king should feel at home in any of his restaurants; he speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Staton, whose grandfather Albert Staton founded Coca-Cola bottler Panamerican Beverages, became a billionaire in April 2011, when Arcos Dorados debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock price has dipped just slightly since, and with it Staton's fortune by about $100 million, from $1.8 billion to $1.7 billion.