Sung Kook Hwang[ is an American investor, trader and Securities fraud.]
Early life
Hwang was born in South Korea in 1964.
Hwang earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics/business from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Business Administration from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.
Career
Hwang began his career at Hyundai Securities in New York, then worked at the now defunct Peregrine Investments Holdings, where he met billionaire hedge fund manager Julian Robertson, who was a client and went to work for Robertson's Tiger Management. Robertson closed the fund in 2000. Still, during his time as its owner, he'd provided some of whom he considered to be his most promising employees, known as the "Tiger Cubs",[ which grew to over $5 billion at its peak,][ before suffering "heavy losses" during the 2007–09 Great Recession.]
Insider trading
In 2012, Tiger Asia Management and Hwang admitted to insider trading to trade Chinese bank stocks and agreed to criminal and civil settlements totaling more than US$60 million. Tiger Asia Management, Hwang, Tiger Asia Partners, and former head trader Raymond Park also paid US$44 million in penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2014, Hwang was banned from trading in Hong Kong for four years.[
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Archegos Capital
In 2012,[ named Archegos Capital Management.][ The company managed US$10 billion of funds.
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Through the usage of total return swaps, Archegos was able to take highly leveraged positions across multiple companies, as the banks that issued the swaps held the shares on behalf of Archegos. By using swaps, Archegos could circumvent certain disclosure requirements, keeping the scale of its market exposure largely hidden from the public and regulators. In March 2021, losses at Archegos triggered the default and liquidation of positions approaching $30 billion in value, leading to "substantial" losses for Nomura Holdings, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
In March 2021, as Archegos Capital Management faced mounting margin call due to declining stock prices, several prime brokers, including UBS and Credit Suisse, urged Bill Hwang to liquidate positions to mitigate losses. Despite these appeals, Hwang remained confident in his strategy and resisted immediate liquidation. On a conference call with major banks, he expressed optimism about quickly unwinding positions and restoring stability. However, the situation deteriorated rapidly, leading to forced liquidations and significant financial repercussions for the involved banks.
In November 2021, Credit Suisse, having taken a hit of $5.5 billion from the Archegos losses, shut down its prime brokerage business.
In January 2024, Hwang sought to block prosecutors from introducing large quantities of trading data at his upcoming trial, citing their "grave failure" in withholding the data for 17 months.
Indictment
On April 27, 2022, Hwang and his former top lieutenant, Patrick Halligan, were arrested and charged with racketeering, conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud as part of a scheme to harm investors.[ Lawyers for Hwang and Halligan stated that they were innocent of the charges in the indictment.][ Hwang was released on a $100 million bond, which was secured by two properties and $5 million in cash. Halligan was released on a $1 million bond.]
On September 8, 2022, District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set October 2023 as the trial month for Hwang and Halligan, both of whom pleaded not guilty. Former Archegos head trader William Tomita and ex-Chief Risk Officer Scott Becker both pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Hwang and Halligan.
News of Hwang’s indictment and the collapse of Archegos Capital attracted significant attention in South Korea, his birthplace, where media outlets extensively covered the event as a high-profile case of a Korean-American financier’s fall from prominence in the U.S. financial sector.
On November 11, 2024, Bob Foresman, a former vice chair of UBS, advocated for leniency on behalf of Hwang's case, citing that Hwang's devotion towards his faith and his philanthropic efforts had been ignored in the trial.
On November 20, 2024, in a Manhattan court, Hwang was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
On November 21, 2024, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would “consider” reducing the prison sentence for Hwang to 11.5 years after his lawyer Barry Herke advocated for serving 6.5 years in home confinement.
On January 22, 2026, Reuters reported that Hwang was seeking a presidential pardon for his conviction.
Personal life
Hwang is a Christian and his father was a pastor.[ Hwang and his wife reside in Tenafly, New Jersey][ Despite his immense wealth, Hwang lived modestly, driving a Hyundai SUV and focusing on his faith and relationship with God—a continuation of his upbringing as the son of a pastor. He hosted regular Scripture readings at his foundation’s Midtown Manhattan offices and supported sessions at Metro Community Church. He explained his approach, stating, "I try to invest according to the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit." This spiritual perspective allegedly influenced both his personal life and investment philosophy, reflecting his claimed commitment to living out his faith.]
In November 2024, Hwang stated that his net worth was $55 million, significantly less than the $30 billion during his peak.
Philanthropy
Hwang co-founded the Grace and Mercy Foundation, a charitable organization, which, by 2018, had reportedly "more than US$500 million in assets."
See also
