Brazilian billionaire promoter Eike Batista regrets using the public markets to finance his activities, he writes in an op-ed to Valor Thursday.

Batista

"More than anyone, I wonder where I went wrong. What should I have done differently? A first question might be linked to the funding model I chose for the companies. Today, if I could go back in time, I would not have resorted to the stock market. I would have a structured private-equity firm that would allow me to create from scratch and develop over at least 10 years each company. And they would all remain private until I was sure that it was time to go public. In the projects that I conceived, time proved a vital stress factor for the reversal of expectations on companies bearing broadly satisfactory results and valuable assets."

Batista is not giving up: "I feed myself from this ability to dream and achieve. Undertaking is in my blood, in my DNA. It is my inexhaustible source of energy and life."

Full article by Linette Lopez of Business Insider: Billionaire Who Lost A Massive Fortune Wonders Where It All Went Wrong

Related: Charlie Rose interviews Eike Batista (2/7/2010).