How This Billionaire Accumulated An Incredible $20 Billion – And Lost It All In Just 2 Days?

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 22/11/2025 at 09:03

Updated on 22/11/2025 at 09:04

Imagem ilustrativa: IA

2 people reacted to this.

The Fall of Archegos Capital Exposed Weaknesses in Wall Street Leverage, Showed How Hidden Risks Can Explode in a Few Days, and Transformed Bill Hwang into a Symbol of an Unexpected Billion-Dollar Collapse

It was at the end of March 2021 that an unusual movement began to raise concerns among Wall Street traders as successive sell orders appeared suddenly. The transactions involved a small set of stocks but moved billions of dollars and seemed endless. The central question was to identify who was behind that flood of orders. The mystery didn’t last long. Soon, the name responsible emerged strongly: Archegos Capital, the family office led by billionaire Bill Hwang.

Hwang’s Trajectory

Bill Hwang immigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1982 and built his story in the financial market starting from scratch.

He began his career at Hyundai Securities, working in sales and trading, and his performance caught attention.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The Billionaire’s First Big Problem

The promising trajectory suffered a blow in 2012. Tiger Asia was shut down after Hwang admitted to insider trading in trades involving Chinese banks.

Prohibited from managing third-party funds, he opted to manage only his own wealth.

This is how Archegos Capital was born. The focus was on the technology sector. Hwang took advantage of the strong rise of the Big Techs.

Google, Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook made up his portfolio because he believed in the potential of these companies.

Between 2013 and 2021, the manager transformed US$ 200 million into US$ 20 billion by operating with high leverage. However, the strategy hit a limit on March 22, 2021.

The Unexpected Turnaround

ViacomCBS, the largest position in the portfolio, announced a US$ 3 billion equity issuance. The market reacted very poorly.

The next day, the stock fell nearly 10%. Wednesday was no different, with another drop of 23%.

With the plunge, margin calls appeared. Banks demanded collateral to cover loans. To meet the requirements, Hwang would have to sell other positions. He refused this alternative.

As the stocks continued to plummet, the banks decided to liquidate Archegos’ positions. There was no way out.

The operation exposed the extent of the leverage. Despite having US$ 20 billion, the family office was moving about US$ 100 billion.

The Destruction of the Billionaire’s Wealth

The forced liquidation wiped out Bill Hwang’s wealth from US$ 20 billion to zero in just two days. At the same time, banks involved in the operations reported losses of US$ 10 billion.

Credit Suisse was the most affected, accumulating a loss of US$ 5.5 billion. Goldman Sachs, Nomura, UBS, and Morgan Stanley also suffered significant impacts as they were exposed to Archegos’ leveraged operations.

Legal Consequences

In April 2022, Hwang was arrested and charged with fraud. The SEC stated that Archegos engaged in risky trades without economic purpose, solely to artificially inflate prices. The collapse exposed the hidden risk in the structures used by the family office.

The Broad Impact

The revelations broadened the debate on extreme leverage as they showed how complex structures can hide significant risks.

Moreover, the case highlighted weaknesses in the internal controls of the banks involved. For the market, the event served as a warning about the speed at which losses can multiply when concentrated operations become unbalanced.

Hwang’s story became a symbol of these limits. This marked the global sector.

With information from Curioso Mercado.

How This Billionaire Accumulated An Incredible $20 Billion – And Lost It All In Just 2 Days?

The Fall of Archegos Capital Exposed Weaknesses in Wall Street Leverage, Showed How Hidden Risks Can Explode in a Few Days, and Transformed Bill Hwang into a Symbol of an Unexpected Billion-Dollar Collapse

Hwang’s Trajectory

The Billionaire’s First Big Problem

The Unexpected Turnaround

The Destruction of the Billionaire’s Wealth

Legal Consequences

The Broad Impact

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Cristiano Ronaldo builds a billion-dollar mansion in Portugal with 54,000 square feet, a 3-acre plot facing the Atlantic, private spa, indoor and outdoor pools, and an estimated value of an impressive R$ 385 million.

Electric vehicle market soars 175% in just four months of 2026, and historic growth boosts automakers, expands charging infrastructure, and accelerates the technological race that is beginning to reshape the future of Brazilian transportation.

While Brazil has been dragging its feet on the Rio-São Paulo bullet train for 30 years, California has turned its own into a zombie project: 18 years, $126 billion, 60 viaducts completed, and zero meters of track laid, with Trump cutting $4 billion in July.

While Brazil has been discussing the Maracanã renovation for 25 years and struggles to keep the Arena MorumBis open, Abu Dhabi signs a $1.7 billion deal to build the world’s second Sphere on an artificial island, with 20,000 seats, by 2029.

Supermarket giant buys 12 stores, Distribution Center, and two chains and accelerates expansion

Brazil erects a digital wall along 16,886 km of borders with 10 countries, using sensors, radars, military communications, and the Army’s decision-making system to protect one of the largest land stretches on the planet and showcase the technological strength of national defense.

How This Billionaire Accumulated An Incredible $20 Billion – And Lost It All In Just 2 Days?

The Fall of Archegos Capital Exposed Weaknesses in Wall Street Leverage, Showed How Hidden Risks Can Explode in a Few Days, and Transformed Bill Hwang into a Symbol of an Unexpected Billion-Dollar Collapse

Hwang’s Trajectory

The Billionaire’s First Big Problem

The Unexpected Turnaround

The Destruction of the Billionaire’s Wealth

Legal Consequences

The Broad Impact

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Australia prepares to dredge 96.5 million m³ in Moreton Bay to deepen, widen, and realign channels of the Port of Brisbane, in a project of up to 25 years designed to accommodate larger ships and enhance maritime safety and regional port efficiency.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Cristiano Ronaldo builds a billion-dollar mansion in Portugal with 54,000 square feet, a 3-acre plot facing the Atlantic, private spa, indoor and outdoor pools, and an estimated value of an impressive R$ 385 million.

Supermarket giant buys 12 stores, Distribution Center, and two chains and accelerates expansion

There are only four days left until the Income Tax deadline, and the Federal Revenue Service is still awaiting over 13 million returns. Those who miss the 11:59 PM deadline on May 29 will incur a minimum fine of R$ 165.74 with no discount.

More than 220 Brazilian industries have already fled towards Paraguay and no one seems to be paying attention. The small neighbor is growing three times faster than Brazil and attracting billions in foreign investments while the South American giant remains stagnant.

Government prepares billion-dollar discount on electricity bills: Aneel will return R$ 5.5 billion to consumers in the North, Northeast, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo in the form of reduced energy tariffs.

Starting June 7, 27 European countries prohibit asking about previous salary in interviews, and Brazil has chosen a different path.

Electric vehicle market soars 175% in just four months of 2026, and historic growth boosts automakers, expands charging infrastructure, and accelerates the technological race that is beginning to reshape the future of Brazilian transportation.

While Brazil has been dragging its feet on the Rio-São Paulo bullet train for 30 years, California has turned its own into a zombie project: 18 years, $126 billion, 60 viaducts completed, and zero meters of track laid, with Trump cutting $4 billion in July.

While Brazil has been discussing the Maracanã renovation for 25 years and struggles to keep the Arena MorumBis open, Abu Dhabi signs a $1.7 billion deal to build the world’s second Sphere on an artificial island, with 20,000 seats, by 2029.

Supermarket giant buys 12 stores, Distribution Center, and two chains and accelerates expansion

Brazil erects a digital wall along 16,886 km of borders with 10 countries, using sensors, radars, military communications, and the Army’s decision-making system to protect one of the largest land stretches on the planet and showcase the technological strength of national defense.