Billionaire loses over 90% of his fortune and counting
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Imaginechina Limited / REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
One billionaire's net-worth has plummeted beyond belief after losing over 90 per cent of his fortune.
This real estate developer has now lost the title of the second-richest person in Asia.
Acting as Chairman of the Chinese real-estate developer, the Evergrande Group, Hui Ka Yan is also the largest shareholder of the group - holding nearly 60 per cent of stock as of December 2021.
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Founded back in 2006 in Shenzhen, the Evergrande Group is said to be the second largest property developer in China when measured by sales.
According to Forbes, Hui's company is 'an investment holding company, which engages in the development, investment, and management of real estate properties'.
The firm operates through segments including property development, property investment, property management services, among other businesses.
With over 200,000 employees and over 1,300 developments based in more than 280 cities - it's clear that the Evergrande Group is pretty big.
According to CNN, the real estate developer turned over more than a massive $110 billion (£88.9 billion) in sales back in 2020.
Hui's net worth was once estimated to be a whopping $42 billion (£33.9 billion) at its peak but has since dropped exponentially.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Hui's wealth has taken a huge hit - a staggering 93 per cent to be exact.
His fortune currently lies at $3 billion (£2.4 billion) - a hefty decline compared to his dozens of billions previously recorded back in 2017.
The Evergrande Group also became China's 'most indebted developer' after reportedly failing to deliver the debt restructuring plan it promised last year, according to CNN.
By August 2022, the company had amassed over $300 billion (£242 billion) worth of liabilities.
Evergrande then issued one of its subsidiaries to pay out $1.08 billion (£888.7 million) for failing to pay their debt.
In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said: "As the borrowers failed to repay the loans, the applicant carried out its obligations under the guarantee and claimed against the Subsidiary under the Pledge.
"The arbitration ruling is that the applicant has the priority to receive compensation from the sale of the Shares, and the scope of the priority covers the amount paid by the applicant for discharging its obligations under the guarantee, the capital occupation fee on such amount and other expenses incurred by the applicant in connection with the exercise of its right of recovery."
And Hui isn't the only billionaire that recently saw a huge drop in their net worth, as Elon Musk saw a $100 million loss (£84.6 billion) in 2022.
It was also reported that the investor had lost around $310.8 million (£173.7m) from his net worth every day this year.