In the history of sudden wealth loss, Li Hejun may have set a new record.
Li, who was China's richest man until this week,
saw his fortune drop by as much as $15 billion in a half-hour as the
stock in his company, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, fell by nearly
half. Trading in the shares was halted Wednesday and Li didn't attend
the company's annual meeting.
While plenty of billionaires have seen their
fortunes cut in half over time, few if any have seen $15 billion wiped
out in a half-hour. Li's total fortune was around $30 billion before the
stock plunged.
Prior to the drop, the company's shares had risen by more than fivefold
since September, baffling analysts. Reuters reports that Hong Kong regulators are looking at alleged market manipulation with the stock.
[so he's still up]
In a similar wealth decline, Hong Kong property and electronics
magnate Pan Sutong has lost more than $11 billion this week as shares of
two listed companies, Goldin Financial and Goldin Property, both closed down more than 40 percent.
Pan owns around 65 percent of Goldin Property and
more than 70 percent of Goldin Financial, according to filings. His
fortune was listed at more than $28 billion, making him Hong Kong's
second-richest man.
That means that the two men have lost more in one day that the total net worth of Carl Icahn, Steve Ballmer or Michael Dell.
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