Summary
Former billionaire investor Bill Hwang was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, which caused over $10 billion in losses to Wall Street banks.
Convicted of wire fraud, securities fraud, and market manipulation, Hwang misled banks to secure massive loans, amassing $160 billion in stock exposure before Archegos’s collapse in 2021.
The implosion wiped out $100 billion in stock value and severely impacted banks like Credit Suisse.
Despite his philanthropy, the court rejected his plea for leniency, citing the scale of financial harm.
Russia punishes billionaires that cause problems for other Russian billionaires. Punishing a few of the billionaires who were stripping the copper from the walls is why Putin became so popular.