Asia’s wealthiest woman, Yang Huiyan, has seen a significant drop in her wealth over the past two years due to troubles in her Chinese property development company. Yang is the leader of Country Garden Holdings Co, which is facing financial difficulties. Her wealth dropped 84% from its peak in June 2021, with an 8.2% decline on Tuesday, per Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Country Garden skipped Monday’s coupon payment. Without payment in 30 days, it faces its initial public default.
Yang’s money has decreased by $28.6 billion from its highest point. Now, he has $5.5 billion left. This drop is the biggest in terms of money compared to other rich people that Bloomberg’s wealth tracker follows in this period.
Yang’s primary source of wealth comes from her ownership in Country Garden. The company’s shares fell nearly 60% this year due to lower home sales and higher refinancing expenses in China’s real estate. Country Garden, in Foshan, publicly traded in Hong Kong, earned 430 billion yuan ($60 billion) in FY2022.
Yang went through a decrease in his money, but Hui Ka Yan from China Evergrande Group had an even bigger drop. Hui’s wealth fell a lot from $42 billion in 2017 to $3.2 billion because his real estate company couldn’t pay its debts on time.
The wealth of China’s real estate tycoons went down because the government took action against them borrowing too much money in 2020. This crackdown has made it difficult for developers to refinance their increasing debts. Lack of money led to problems like missed payments from foreign investments, losses in investments, and delays in building homes. Prior to this, Yang, Hui, and others gained wealth in China due to fast real estate growth.
Recently, Yang pledged to donate over $826 million, half of her stake, to a charity her sister established. Despite this transfer, she will maintain her voting rights.
Yang’s path to achievement started when her father started a company called Country Garden in 1992. After a while, he let her take charge in 2005. After working as his assistant in the company to grasp the business, she prepared to eventually take over its leadership.
Yang, 25, became China’s richest woman when Country Garden raised $1.65B in an April 2007 Hong Kong IPO. In the year 2023, she took on the position of the main leader all by herself. This happened because her father retired because he was getting older.