Under Hui,the property developer expanded aggressively by raising loans to support its land-buying sprees and selling homes at lower margins for quick turnover. Evergrande grew to achieve 700 billion yuan ($149 billion) in annual sales by 2020.

In 2017,Hui was Asia’s richest man with a net worth of $US45.3 billion,according to Forbes. Today his net worth is estimated at $US3.2 billion.

Hui’s debt-laden businesses worried regulators who had warned Evergrande to get its house in order amid fears of contagion.

Hui was known for keeping a low public profile and being a workaholic,who at times demanded that others followed his work style,three employees told Reuters.

He also set ambitious targets;when questioned by investors and reporters in the past decade about his highly leveraged projects,Hui said that Evergrande’s high turnover and asset value were sufficient to cover its debts.

Hui did not shy away from new ventures,especially in support of China’s larger goals. He dabbled in electric cars and soccer,both a passion of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Outside mainland China,Hui mixed with Hong Kong tycoons. With them,he became a core member of the “poker club”,a tight-knit circle of tycoons who often did investment deals together,according to three people familiar with the club.

“He was very composed when he was first brought to the club;he knowingly lost a lot of money in the games and gained the fondness of Cheng,” one of the people briefed by the tycoons said,referring to the late founder of Hong Kong property developer New World Development,Cheng Yu Tung.

Cheng injected $US150 million into Evergrande a year before its 2009 IPO in Hong Kong,according to Evergrande’s listing prospectus,helping it through a crunch during the financial crisis following its aggressive expansion.

Hui’s debt-laden businesses worried regulators who had warned Evergrande to get its house in order amid fears of contagion.

Speaking at the 2018 China Charity Awards as a winner for the eighth consecutive year,Hui said Evergrande had paid tax totalling 185 billion yuan in the past 22 years and donated more than 10 billion yuan.

“Without the country’s policy to reform higher education,I could not have left the village. Without the country giving me a scholarship of 14 yuan every month,I could not have completed university,” Hui said.

“Without the country’s good policy to reform and open up,Evergrande would not have what it has today. Therefore,everything that Evergrande and I have,they are all given by the Party,by the country,and by society.”

Reuters

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