`You have to be an optimist.'

This article focuses on Brazilian businessman Emílio Alves Odebrecht, who lost everything in the 1940s and now presides over one of the world's fastest growing and most innovative construction empires. Because his $2 billion general construction company, Odebrecht SA, is the Bechtel of the Portuguese-speaking world. In Angola, Odebrecht has 5,500 workers. Some are building the Capanda dam that will supply Angola's capital, Luanda, with power. In the North American market, Odebrecht lit is working in Mexico with construction giant ICA to build a hydroelectric dam. In the U.S., Odebrecht is completing six projects and has finished building Miami's Metromover transit system.