Bill Hwang, also known as Sung Kook Hwang, led Archegos Capital Management, causing major losses to investment banks in March 2021. His actions led to a collapse of Credit Suisse and he was indicted for fraud and racketeering in April 2022.
Sung Kook Hwang, also known as Bill Hwang, was born in South Korea in 1964.
Bill Hwang immigrated to the United States in 1982 and began his journey in the stock market, working at Hyundai Securities and later moving to Peregrine before joining Tiger Management under legendary investor Julian Robertson.
In 1996, Hwang was hired by Julian Robertson after hobnobbing with him, earning business for Peregrine, Hwang’s employer.
Bill Hwang achieved a remarkable 64% average annual return for 8 years straight by carefully studying panics and regulations in the financial market. He learned from experienced financiers and developed a successful investment strategy.
In 2000, Bill Hwang received $25 million from Julian Robertson to start his own fund, Tiger Asia Management, after working under Robertson at Tiger Management. The fund grew to over $5 billion in assets at its peak.
In 2001, after 5 years of working with Julian Robertson, Bill Hwang was staked with $25 million of seed money to start 'Tiger Asia', an extension of Robertson's 'Tiger Management'. Hwang became a 'Tiger Cub' and achieved significant success until being indicted for insider trading.
Bill Hwang founded the Grace and Mercy Foundation in 2006, a non-profit organization based in Archegos' office in Manhattan. The foundation has contributed millions to theological seminaries, Christian charities, and religious institutions.
In early 2011, Bill Hwang contributed Amazon stock to the Grace and Mercy Foundation. The stock was later sold by the foundation in December 2018 for a significant profit.
In 2012, Bill Hwang closed his fund, Tiger Asia Management, after pleading guilty to insider trading in federal court. He settled civil and criminal charges related to manipulating Chinese stocks by paying a total of $60 million and forfeiting about $16 million in profits.
In 2013, Bill Hwang converted his hedge fund Tiger Asia into a family office called Archegos, which led to a reduction in regulatory disclosures as he no longer managed outside money.
In 2014, Bill Hwang was banned from trading securities in Hong Kong for four years due to regulatory issues.
In December 2018, the Grace and Mercy Foundation sold Amazon stock donated by Bill Hwang for a substantial amount per share. The foundation typically sells stock shortly after receiving them.
Bill Hwang of Archegos Capital Management, who provided seed money to Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management, was arrested after his fund's collapse in 2020.
On March 26, 2021, the default of Archegos Capital Management, run by Sung Kook Hwang, also known as Bill Hwang, resulted in significant losses for several prominent investment banks.
Korean-American investor Bill Hwang, once known as 'the greatest trader you had never heard of', saw his New York-based Archegos Capital Management collapse in March, resulting in the loss of a reported US$20 billion fortune in a matter of days.
Bill Hwang, a Wall Street investor, faced one of the fastest losses of money in history when he lost US$20 billion in just two days through Archegos Capital Management. His previously amassed fortune quickly vanished, making him stand out as one of the few individuals to experience such a significant financial downfall.
On April 27, 2022, Bill Hwang and his former top lieutenant, Patrick Halligan, were arrested and charged with racketeering, conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud for allegedly manipulating stock prices to harm investors. Both denied the charges.
Bill Hwang, known for his involvement with Archegos, was also an early investor in ARK Invest, adding to the complexity of financial connections in the investment world.
On September 8, 2022, District Judge Alvin Hellerstein scheduled the trial of Bill Hwang and Patrick Halligan, who pleaded not guilty, to begin in October 2023. Former Archegos executives William Tomita and Scott Becker agreed to testify against them.
In January 2024, Bill Hwang sought to block prosecutors from presenting a large amount of trading data at his upcoming trial, accusing them of withholding the data for 17 months.