How Bill Hwang’s $10B Empire Crumbled: The Archegos Financial Catastrophe

In 2021, Bill Hwang, the founder of Archegos Capital Management, became the center of one of the largest financial collapses in recent history. Hwang, a former hedge fund manager, had turned Archegos into a highly successful family office, amassing billions of dollars by leveraging concentrated bets on a small number of stocks, such as ViacomCBS and Discovery.

Using derivative contracts called "total return swaps," Hwang was able to build massive positions without having to disclose them publicly. This allowed him to quietly control significant portions of certain companies' stocks. At its peak, Archegos managed up to $10 billion in capital, with leverage making those positions worth tens of billions more.

However, in March 2021, everything unraveled when the value of his core holdings plummeted. As the prices of ViacomCBS and other stocks fell, the banks that had lent him money for these leveraged trades began to demand more collateral. Unable to meet those demands, Archegos defaulted, forcing banks to liquidate billions in stock. This led to widespread losses for financial institutions, with firms like Credit Suisse and Nomura losing billions.

Hwang's downfall is a stark reminder of the dangers of excessive leverage and the risks hidden in opaque financial instruments.

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