“Like the most spirited thoroughbreds, we’re going to break through all that is impossible,” says Pan Sutong, the Chinese billionaire, in a slick corporate video produced by Goldin Group, his property, wine and horse conglomerate.
True to his word, Goldin Properties and Goldin Financial, the Hong Kong-listed companies he controls, broke new ground on Thursday when their shares slumped 41 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively, wiping $16.6bn off their combined market capitalisation.
That amounts to a $13.4bn hit to the paper wealth of the self-made tycoon, according to Forbes’ real-time ranking of the world’s richest people. In just one day Mr Pan went from being above Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate, at number 21 in the Forbes list to level-pegging with Alisher Usmanov, the Russian metals tycoon who part-owns Arsenal football club, at number 66, with $14.8bn.