The Empire of Excess Falls: Evergrande's Downfall and the Perils of China's Real Estate Boom The life sentence for Hui Ka Yan, founder of China Evergrande Group, marks a turning point in the country's long and troubled real estate saga.
For decades, Hui rode the wave of unbridled growth, fueled by debt and hubris, to become one of Asia's richest men.
His empire was built on shaky ground, however – a monument to China's addiction to excess and its reckless pursuit of wealth. Evergrande's story is a microcosm of China's own economic rise and fall.