Jair Bolsonaro went from humble beginnings as the son of an unlicensed dentist to becoming the most powerful man in Brazil.

The Brazilian president is running for his second term in office in the upcoming elections in October, but he remains the country's most controversial leader yet.

Bolsanaro started as a soldier after he graduated from the Agulhas Negras Military Academy in 1977. He served as a paratrooper and rose to the ranks of captain. He entered politics after leaving the army in 1988. 

He first ran as a city councilor for Rio de Janeiro in 1989 before being voted as a congressman representing Rio de Janeiro in Brazil's federal Chamber of Deputies. He held the seat for seven consecutive terms.

Jair Bolsonaro Became Infamous in the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil

As he served his first term in the federal Chamber of Deputies, Jair Bolsonaro embraced the political right, openly praising the military rule in Brazil and even calling for its return. 

He became deeply conservative and was even branded a homophobe, a racist, and a misogynist. He was known for his many controversial comments about homosexuals, rape, and Afro-Brazilians.

Bolsonaro's inflammatory comments gave him the perception of being an extremist. He was also unable to author much legislation in his time in the Chamber of Deputies. 

However, he did lead several house committees, as well as being a member of other ones. The most notable role in his time in the Chamber of Deputies was serving as the head of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense.

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Donald Trump-Style Populist Run as President of Brazil

Throughout his political career, Jair Bolsonaro was considered to be on the political fringes. However, when Brazil sank deeper into a recession in the 2010s, Bolsonaro took advantage of Brazilians' disenchantment with the left-wing Workers' Party and started a populist campaign that echoed the style of former President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro showed little to no concern about political correctness and was soon labeled the "Trump of the Tropics." 

He ran on a pro-business and anti-crime agenda and won the presidency in 2018. He showed little care for the environment, as the Amazon rainforest shrank in record numbers under his leadership.

When COVID-19 hit, Bolsonaro dismissed the pandemic as something like the flu. As expected, Brazilians paid for his nonchalant approach to the disease's spread.

Jair Bolsonaro Net Worth 2022

As Brazil is currently suffering from an economic and environmental crisis, Jair Bolsonaro remains one of the most polarizing politicians in the country. 

He still has an immense following, mainly due to his YouTube channel. According to Net Worth Spot, his YouTube channel gets 1.32 million views a month, or an average of around 44,080 views a day. 

Monetized YouTube channels earn around $3 to $7 per one thousand views. He is estimated to earn around $5,290 a month, totaling about $79,350 a year. And that is just his possible YouTube earnings.

Unfortunately, his exact net worth is not publicly available. Several sites, including Celebrity Net Worth, disagree on how much he is worth, as they range from around $320,000 (1.7 million reais) to $500,000 (2.7 million reais).

While that number is hard to believe, given Bolsonaro's connections to various business tycoons in Brazil and being the president, he never really made his earnings public. 

Brazil still lacks freedom of information about that part. However, many sites agree that his public earnings as a politician and a YouTuber may be around less than a million U.S. dollars.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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