In 2014, he declared: “I don't care if I make friends that have money or not. They won’t have as much money as I do anyway”. A year later he put two newly-released Apple iWatches on the feet of his pet dog, an Alaskan Malamute named Keke.

Wang’s story is indicative of how quickly personal wealth can disappear in China, where growth is increasingly built on debt and there is no rule of law to protect personal property.

But he was not the only cautionary tale in China last year, with many many provincial tycoons suffering similar riches to rags fates.

Xiao Yongming, once the wealthiest man in remote Qinghai province for his control of local potash resources, was blacklisted by a Chinese court for failing to pay his debts and fined by China’s stock market regulator. While Xiao once bragged about using his private helicopter to avoid traffic jams, he now faces restrictions including his ability to travel on high-speed railway and aeroplanes.

Liaoning businessman Yang Kai, meanwhile, is 72 yuan billion yuan (US$10.3 million) in debt and has been blacklisted in China’s court system for failing to pay creditors. His company, Huishan Dairy, was officially delisted from Hong Kong stock exchange last month.

However, it was not just debt defaults that saw Chinese businessmen run into trouble with authorities in 2019.

Yang Zhuoshu, once the richest man in Hebei province, surrendered to police in May and was subsequently tried for illegally taking public funds, though it is unclear if he has been convicted.

Zhang Wei, a cornerstone investor of Gansu Bank, was arrested in April for being part of “mafia-style gang” involved in illegal fundraising, harassment, blackmail, illegal detention of people and possession of firearms, according to the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau.

“Many of these [private tycoons] will continue to face challenges in the year ahead,” Ding Wenjie, economist at CMB International Securities said. “The overall trend is for regulation to tighten further, especially in industries that make bigger profits.

“Previously when the economy was doing well, these firms were quite aggressive and found policy loop holes to do risky business. Authorities want to regulate their behaviour now, so policy will keep tightening.”

The ruling Communist Party, which has an uneasy history with China’s capitalists, has been trying hard to assure private businessmen they are valued and protected over the past two years.

However, some observers are doubtful of the government’s sincerity. Xiang Songzuo, a professor at Renmin University of China, recently said in a widely shared video that the Communist Party only says it needs private sector when it has to save the economy, but its ultimate goal was still “to get rid of” capitalists.