Hui Ka Yan

Hui Ka Yan was born from a rural family in Jutaigang Village, Gaoxian Township, Taikang County, Henan, on October 9, 1958.[7][2][8] His father is a retired soldier who participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s and 1940s.[9] After the establishment of the communist state, he became a warehouseman in his home village.[9] Hui's mother died of sepsis when he was 8 months old.[9][8] He was raised by his paternal grandmother.[9][8] After high school he worked in a cement product factory for a few days and then worked for two years at home.[10][8] He was the production team leader.[11] After resuming the college entrance examination in 1978, Hui was accepted to Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel (now Wuhan University of Science and Technology) serving as commissary in charge of hygiene in his class.[12]

As a fresh graduate in 1982, Hui was assigned to the heat-treatment shop of Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (舞阳钢铁公司), becoming its associate director in 1983 and director in 1985.[13][14] Hui served as director for seven years there.[15] After resigning in 1992, he moved to Shenzhen, the newly founded special economic zone in southeast China's Guangdong province.[16] He was accepted by a trading company named Zhongda (中达).[16] One year later, he became president of its branch office, named Quanda (全达).[17] On October 1, 1994, Hui moved to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to establish the Guangzhou Pengda Industrial Co., Ltd. (广州鹏达实业有限公司).[18]

In May 1996, Hui Ka Yan, with a monthly salary of 2000 yuan, left the Zhongda Group after unsuccessful negotiation with the boss of this society.

In March 1997 he founded the Evergrande Group, becoming its chairman.[19] Hui is the owner of Guangzhou Evergrande football club, one of China’s most successful football clubs.[20] In 2019, Hui announced a three-year investment in electric cars worth approximately $6.4 billion.[21]

At its peak of 2017, his fortune is thought to have been $45.3 billion, putting him third on Forbes' 2020 list of the richest Chinese billionaires.[6] However, from 2017 to 2020 his wealth was estimated to have dropped by more than $20 billion to $21.8 billion due to mounting debts, which were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.[22] The Hurun China Rich List of October 2021 still estimated his personal fortune to be around $11.3 billion in autumn 2021.[23] However, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index his net worth had dropped to $6.2 billion by 13 December 2021, having lost $17.2 billion on the year,[24] due partly to the sale of personal assets in the context of the Evergrande liquidity crisis,[25][26] including his US$227-million mansion in London.[27]

On 28 September 2023, trading in Evergrande shares was suspended after a report was released stating that Hui was under police investigation for suspicion of illegal crimes.[28]

In 2008, Hui became a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, the top political advisory body in China. He was promoted to CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee in 2013, and actively participated in the conventions since then. He attended the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2021. In November 2022, he skipped a Standing Committee meeting due to the crisis at Evergrande, and was told not to attend the annual meeting of the CPPCC in March 2023.[29]

Hui married Ding Yumei (丁玉梅), whom he met at the Wuyang Iron and Steel Company (舞阳钢铁公司).[30] The couple have two children and live in Guangzhou.[2]