A Chinese billionaire, formerly one of the country's wealthiest businessmen and once the second-richest person in Asia, has seen his fortune drop by 93%.
The chairman of real estate developer China's Evergrande Group, Hui Ka Yan, was worth $42 billion in 2017 and is now worth $3 billion, reports Bloomberg.
According to a CNN report, Hui's Evergrande is the country's most indebted developer, with $300 billion in liabilities. In addition, the company has been experiencing real estate problems since 2021.
Hui ended up selling his houses and private jets to save his company.
The UK's most expensive home, on Rutland Gate in London (purchased for $232 million in 2020), also belonged to Hui before being put on the market again. It was previously owned by the late Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz.
Evergrande has close to 200,000 employees and owns more than 1,300 developments in more than 280 cities.
After defaulting on its U.S. dollar bonds in December 2021, Evergrande has yet to deliver its preliminary debt restructuring plan, leading to further concerns about its future. The company has more than $16 billion of outstanding dollar notes.
Hoping to start 2023 on a positive note, Hui told staff that "2023 is a key year for Evergrande to fulfill its corporate responsibility and do everything in its power to ensure the delivery of construction projects".
"As long as everyone at Evergrande pulls together, never gives up, (and) works hard... we will certainly be able to complete the tasks of guaranteeing deliveries, repaying all kinds of debts, and resolving risks," Hui wrote in a letter.
Along with the declining wealth, Hui is finding himself politically isolated with the latest move from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The CPPCC, an elite group comprising government officials and the most prominent names in the business, told Hui not to attend last year's annual convention.
According to Bloomberg's wealth index, China's five richest property tycoons lost about $65 billion combined in the past two years.
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