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Hui Ka Yan, the founder and chairman of Evergrande, a Chinese property giant, was once the wealthiest person in Asia. He rose from a humble background to build a massive business empire, with a fortune estimated at $42.5 billion in 2017. However, he is now under investigation for suspected "illegal crimes" as his company faces a staggering $300 billion debt. Hui Ka Yan was born into a poor rural family in 1958 and was raised by his grandmother in a village in central Henan province after his mother passed away when he was a baby. He worked as a steel technician and later became a salesman for a property developer in Guangzhou before founding Evergrande in 1996. Evergrande grew rapidly by borrowing large sums of money during China's economic boom. Alicia Garcia Herrero, the chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, described Hui as an example of how anyone can become wealthy through hard work and intelligence. Aside from property, Evergrande expanded into other sectors such as wealth management, electric car manufacturing, and food and drink production. It also acquired a majority stake in Guangzhou football club. However, in 2020, Beijing implemented new regulations to control the debt of major real estate developers. Evergrande responded by offering significant discounts on its properties to stay afloat. Nevertheless, it is now struggling to repay its debts, leading to a 99% decrease in its stock market valuation and a sharp decline in Hui's fortune to $3.2 billion. Amid this crisis, Evergrande suspended trading of its shares, and Hui joined the growing list of Chinese billionaires facing investigations. Some experts believe this scrutiny is linked to President Xi Jinping's Common Prosperity policy, which aims to address income inequality. While there has been no official statement on Hui's investigation, an opinion piece in the state-run Global Times newspaper emphasized the need to prioritize the interests of ordinary citizens and minimize homebuyers' losses in dealing with the Evergrande crisis. In conclusion, Hui Ka Yan's rise from poverty to become one of Asia's wealthiest individuals has been overshadowed by the investigation into his alleged illegal activities and Evergrande's massive debt crisis.