LVMH’s Bernard Arnault isn’t the only billionaire to have dropped a fortune – 5 Chinese tycoons who also lost billions thanks to Covid-19

At this volatile time, with the world wracked by the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the world’s wealthiest men and women are losing billions. As they say on Project Runway, one day you’re in, and one day you are out.

CEO of luxury brand LVMH, Bernard Arnault, is one example. His net worth has plunged by US$30 billion, dethroning him after his only-recent crowning as the world’s richest man and dropping him back to third.

Arnault is not alone. In recent times, several Chinese billionaires – from a jewellery magnate to real estate gurus – also lost billions almost overnight. Here are five of the biggest losers in dollar terms.

Jia Yueting

Jia Yueting founded Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp (LeTV) in 2004 and has since grown it into the LeEco Group with interests in consumer electronics, film streaming and video as a service.

With the success of his company, Jia was listed as a billionaire on the Hurun China Rich List in 2016 with an estimated worth of US$6 billion.

After being rocked by a financial crisis in 2017, LeTV’s fortunes took a turn and Jia left for Faraday Future, a start-up working on electric vehicles based in Los Angeles. Faced with a series of lawsuits and debts back in China, he filed for personal bankruptcy in the US in October 2019.

Feng Xin

Sometimes the higher you go, the more painful the fall. This was particularly the case for Feng Xin, CEO of Chinese online video service provider, Baofeng Group.

In 2015, Baofeng Group had a market value of US$1.58 billion but Feng was able to jack that up to US$51.6 billion in just 40 days with 36 limit ups. The stunning rise in value was a game changer, especially since the first online video service provider in China, Tudou, was only worth US$34 billion at the time.