Bill Hwang Biography: Net Worth, Age, Wife, Children, Sentence, Parents, Height, Jail
Biography
Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang is a renowned Korean-American investor and founder of Archegos Capital Management, a family office that managed billions in assets.
A protégé of hedge fund legend Julian Robertson at Tiger Management, Hwang launched Tiger Asia Management in 2001, growing it into a major Asia-focused fund before closing it in 2012 amid insider trading allegations, to which he pleaded guilty and paid fines.
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He then converted his operations into Archegos in 2013. Using highly leveraged positions via swaps, the firm amassed enormous stakes in stocks like ViacomCBS, but its spectacular collapse in March 2021—triggered by margin calls—wiped out over $20 billion in value and caused more than $10 billion in losses for banks including Credit Suisse and Nomura.
Hwang was convicted in 2024 on charges of fraud, racketeering, and market manipulation; in November 2024, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison (remaining free on bail pending appeal as of late 2025). A devout Christian, he has also been known for substantial philanthropy through the Grace and Mercy Foundation.
| American investor, trader and convicted fraudster | |
| Bill Hwang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Sung Kook Hwang |
| Stage Name: | Bill Hwang |
| Born: | 12 October 1964 (age 61 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | South Korea |
| Nationality: | South Korean, American |
| Education: | University of California, Los Angeles, Carnegie Mellon University |
| Height: | 1.70 m |
| Parents: | Hwang Dong-jin, Kim Young-sook |
| Siblings: | 1 |
| Spouse: | Becky Hwang |
| Girlfriend • Partner: | Not Dating |
| Children: | Joanne Hwang |
| Occupation: | Investor • Trader |
| Net Worth: | $20 million-$30 billion (USD) |
Early Life & Education
Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang was born on October 12, 1964, in South Korea. Of Korean ethnicity, he grew up in a devout Christian family led by his father, Pastor Hwang Dong-jin, and his mother, Kim Young-sook, who later served as a missionary.
The family immigrated to the United States in 1982, when Hwang was 18, settling initially in Las Vegas, Nevada, where his parents took on factory work and other jobs amid challenges faced by immigrants, before his father resumed pastoral duties.
Tragically, Pastor Hwang passed away shortly after their arrival, prompting the family—including Bill and his younger sister—to relocate to Los Angeles.
Hwang earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), followed by an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University‘s Tepper School of Business. His deep-rooted Christian faith, shaped by his upbringing, has profoundly influenced his life and extensive philanthropy through the Grace and Mercy Foundation.
Career
Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang began his finance career shortly after earning his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, starting as a salesperson at Hyundai Securities in New York before moving to Peregrine Securities. His sharp market insight soon drew the attention of legendary hedge fund manager Julian Robertson.
From 1996 to 2000, Hwang worked as an equity analyst at Robertson’s Tiger Management, where he refined his stock-picking abilities within one of the most influential hedge funds of its era. When Tiger closed in 2000, Robertson seeded Hwang with roughly $25 million to launch Tiger Asia Management in 2001.
As one of the notable “Tiger Cubs,” Hwang turned Tiger Asia into a major Asia-focused hedge fund. The firm grew to more than $5 billion in assets—reaching as high as $8–10 billion by some estimates—and posted impressive performance, including early returns that averaged around 40% annually.
The 2008 financial crisis dealt the fund significant losses, and by 2012 its run ended when Hwang and Tiger Asia pleaded guilty to wire fraud tied to insider trading in Chinese bank stocks. They paid more than $60 million in settlements to U.S. and Hong Kong regulators, and Hwang was barred from managing external capital.
In 2013, he restructured the business into Archegos Capital Management, a family office overseeing what eventually became an estimated $10–15 billion of his personal wealth. Using aggressive leverage through total return swaps with major global banks, Hwang built enormous, opaque positions in a handful of companies—including ViacomCBS, Discovery, and several Chinese tech stocks—creating effective exposure estimated at up to $160 billion by early 2021.
The strategy unraveled in March 2021 when declining share prices triggered margin calls Archegos could not satisfy. Banks rapidly liquidated positions, resulting in more than $10 billion in losses for counterparties—Credit Suisse being the hardest hit—and erasing over $100 billion in market value across affected stocks.
In 2022, federal prosecutors charged Hwang with racketeering, fraud, and market manipulation. After a trial in 2024, he was convicted on 10 counts and sentenced that November to 18 years in prison and ordered to pay over $9 billion in restitution. As of late 2025, he remains free on bail pending his appeal.
Personal Life
Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang, born on October 12, 1964, is currently 61 years old.
He has been married to his wife, Becky Hwang, for many years; the couple has maintained a low-profile family life in Tenafly, New Jersey.
The Hwangs have two children: a son and a daughter named Joanne Hwang, who attended Fordham University.
Hwang‘s height is approximately 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m), based on various descriptions of his physical appearance.
Net Worth
Bill Hwang‘s net worth peaked at an estimated $20 million to $30 billion in early 2021, driven by highly leveraged positions at his family office, Archegos Capital Management.
The firm’s dramatic collapse in March 2021 wiped out virtually all of his personal fortune through forced liquidations and margin calls. As of late 2024, during sentencing proceedings for his fraud and market manipulation convictions, Hwang reported a current net worth of approximately $55 million (with some filings specifying up to $55.3 million).
He faces over $9 billion in ordered restitution, though his legal team argues he lacks the assets to pay significant portions. As of December 2025, while appealing his 18-year prison sentence, no public updates indicate a material change in his reduced wealth.
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