China’s billionaire loses 85 per cent wealth

Hyderabad: You might have heard about the stories of people going bankrupt after they failed miserably in their stocks bets. But all the miseries of all those stock market victims may pale compared to the damages inflicted by bourses to Chinese billionaire Wang Jing, who lost 85 per cent of wealth in just one year. According to Bloomberg, the 42-year-old telecom entrepreneur was “one of the world’s 200 richest people with $10.2 billion at the peak of the Chinese markets in June.”

However, after the worst stock market collapse in China, his net worth has fallen to $1.1 billion. The Chinese billionaire had planned to fund a $50-billion Nicaraguan canal to emerge as a challenger to the Panama Canal.

“His 84 per cent drop so far in 2015 is the worst recorded by the Bloomberg Billionaire index, which provides a daily ranking of the world’s 400 richest people. Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore Plc, had the second-biggest percentage decline, falling 66 per cent,” Bloomberg.com said.

The Indian billionaire and ArcelorMittal Group chairman Lakshmi Mittal figures among 10 worst losers among the top 200 richest in the world. Mr Mittal’s fortunes were affected due to the crash in commodity prices because of China’s economic slow down. According to the Index, the 65-year-old steel magnet has lost 28.9 per cent or $4.1 billion since 2015.    

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani lost 12.5 per cent or $2.7 billion since 2015 and is the second biggest loser among Indian super rich.