The men, believed to own tourist resorts in the South American country's Bahia state, were flying from Salvador to the town of Ilheus, 125 miles away, on Friday.
Last night, three of the men were named as Ricky Every, Nigel Hodges, 52, from Somerset, and Alan Kempson, 47, a property developer from Cambridgeshire.
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A Cessna 310 plane - like the one believed to have crashed in Brazil
The identity of the other man was not released as his next of kin had not been informed.
The plane was cruising over the Atlantic and was seven minutes from its destination when it lost contact with air traffic control. An eyewitness said the aircraft went down after appearing to lose power.
A search by Brazilian coastguards was focusing on the small town of Itacare, 30 miles north of Ilheus on the north-eastern coast.
Ellen Duarte, of Aero Star, the air-charter firm that operated the twin-engined Cessna 310, said weather conditions for the 5pm flight were good.
"The pilot said he was making a visual approach to the airport and that was the last we heard," she said.
The businessmen were thought to be looking at sites for a hotel and golf resort.
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