E dir Macedo is a Brazilian billionaire, media magnate, and the founder and leader of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a massive and often controversial international evangelical Pentecostal church. He founded the church in a small cinema in Rio de Janeiro in 1977 and has since built it into a global religious empire with a presence in dozens of countries, based on the prosperity gospel.

His immense wealth is primarily derived from his ownership of Grupo Record, Brazil's second-largest television network, which he acquired in 1989. He has built a powerful media conglomerate that includes the TV network, newspapers, and a radio network, all of which are used to promote his church's message and his own social and political views. Macedo is a highly influential and polarizing figure in Brazil, known for his close ties to right-wing politicians, including former President Jair Bolsonaro.