Through a series of increasingly audacious business acquisitions, Bernie Ebbers (born 1941) built a once-small business into a global communications powerhouse. An enigmatic person, the laid-back and private Ebbers masterminded some of the largest, headline-grabbing takeovers in business history.

Technological innovations like cellular phones, fiber optics, and the Internet have led to a sea change in the telecommunications industry. As the battle among a handful of competing firms becomes more pitched, Bernie Ebbers emerged as a force. In a series of acquisitions, Ebbers built his original company, LLDS, into MCI WorldCom, the second largest telecommunications company in the world with 22 million customers and over $34 billion in revenue. In October 1999, he announced a merger with Sprint Corp. that would create a company with revenues of $54 billion and 42 million customers.

Humble Roots

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1941, Bernie Ebbers comes from a working-class family. An intensely private man, little is...