The Man who built over $20 billion in personal wealth and lost it all
Posted: Jan 17, 2025
- Bill Hwang
- South Korean immigrant to the U.S.
- Worked at McDonald's
- Started hedge fund Tiger Asia, then Archegos Capital Management
- Used leverage and swaps for bets on tech and media stocks
- When ViacomCBS stock dropped, Archegos couldn't meet margin calls
- $30 billion in value lost, banks like Credit Suisse and Nomura suffered
- Hwang's refusal to hedge or cut losses led to downfall
- Exposed risks in Wall Street's prime brokerage system
- Lesson: fortune built on faith and borrowed money can crumble instantaneously
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