Chinese real estate tycoon's wealth go from $42 billion to $3 billion

Beijing: Once among China's richest businessmen, Hui Ka Yan has lost 93% of his wealth. The Chairman of China Evergrande Group was once worth $42 billion and Asia's second richest person. Now, his wealth has declined to $3 billion. He also sold his houses and private jets to save the company.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, China's five richest property tycoons have also lost around $65 billion together in the last two years.

According to CNN, Evergrande has been at the centre of China's real estate problems in the past two years. The company owns over 1,300 developments in over 280 cities. It also has around 200,000 employees. It hasn't delivered a preliminary debt restructuring plan in 2022. It is now China's most indebted developer with $300 billion in liabilities.

Evergrande gained over $110 billion in 2020 but was affected by the crackdown launched by President Xi Jinping under the 'common prosperity' policy to redistribute wealth. The three red lines policy launched in 2021 also worsened Hui's and his peer's business. The policies were to keep a check on leverage in the real estate sector.

Hui in his New Year message said that 2023 is a crucial year for the company to fulfil its duty as an enterprise and deliver projects in every possible way. He said he believes the group can complete its mission of delivery, repay various debts, eliminate the risks, and start a new chapter on survival, reported South China Morning Post.

Due to his company being at the centre of the country's crisis, Hui was told last year to not attend the annual convention of CPPCC. Now, he has been excluded from the list of invitees for the next five years, reported Sydney Morning Herald. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an elite group of government officials and businessmen. Hui has been part of the organisation since 2008 and its 300-member standing committee since 2013.

Author of Chinese politics Willy Lam told Bloomberg that it's not surprising at all that property tycoons like Hui, who created trouble in the property sector with their over-leveraging, are out of the list. "The CPPCC role is like an honorary reward that China gives to faithful business people to make contributions to the country."