Every time it comes to me as a surprise hearing that a billionaire has been arrested. Considering this we should realize that the making money doesn’t mean you are free to do anything. The government wants everyone to be in limits. Sometimes just a few thousand dollars cannot save your lives or repute.
Check today’s list of top 10 billionaires who served time in prison.
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10. Raj Rajaratnam
For having quality life, J.M Rajaratnam with his family moved from Colombo to the United Kingdom. His son Rajakumaran completed studies in Britain, and received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He founded Galleon Group, a hedge fund, which made him earn USD1.5 billion. He was arrested in 2009 for being an inside trader. During 2011, he was also insulted for security frauds, and sentenced to prison for almost 11 years.
9. Bernie Madoff
Bernie Madoff, shockingly, is in prison for 150 years. The Ponzi scheme was one of Bernie’s creations. He made around USD20 million from the investors. Since his arrest, he lost his two sons. One of them died of cancer, the other committed suicide in 2010.
8. Huang Guangyu and Du Juan
Huang Guangyu has been sentenced to prison for 14 years in China. His wife, on the other hand, is sentenced for 3 years. He has been one of the richest men of China who made USD3 billion in the electronics retail business. He got involved in bribery for which he was arrested along with Du Juan.
7. Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev
Both Mikhail and Platon, the Russian businessmen with net worth of USD15 billion at their peak, were the investors of the Soviet Union. During 2000, the two were put on trial for tax evasion and money laundering. They were also involved in many fraud cases, due to which they were sentenced to jail.
6. Chey Tae-won
SK Group is one of the largest Korean companies having its interests in energy, engineering, telecommunications and transportation. The company was handed down from father Chey John-Hyun to son Chey Tae-Won. During 2011, he was sentenced for 4 years in prisons for being involved in a fraud of over USD40 million. The officials say that his company is operating against the rules and regulations of the government.
5. Alfred Taubman
Alfred Taubman is one of the rich men who remained in prison. Sotheby’s is a massive company, having its offices and branches all over the world. It deals in collectibles, real estates, art and auction of good things. Alfred has been its chairman since the 1980s through to the 2000s. During 2002, he was sentenced to jail for a price fixing case. He remained in prison for almost a year and was fined more than USD7 million.
4. Michael Milken
It happened back in 1980s when Michael Milken, studied at the University of Pennsylvania, got involved in trade of high bonds at one of the investment banks named Drexel Burnham Lambert. In 1990, he was charged heavy fine and sentenced to prison for two years.
3. Chung Mong-Koo
Chung Mong-Koo is the chairman of Hyundai, the South Korean automaker. His net worth is estimated to be USD7 billion. This man is one of the most influential personalities in the world. Back in 2007, he was sent to jail for 3 years due to being involved in multiple fraud cases.
2. R. Allen Stanford
The name of R. Allen Stanford has been taken with pride in the financial business. He was one of the partners of the Ponzi scheme that has left many people broke to this day. Due to this scheme, he made over USD8 million. The case was investigated in 2009, and in 2012, Allen was sent to jail for 110 years.
1. Thomas Kwok
Thomas Kwok is behind one of the biggest companies of Hong Kong named Sun Hung Kai Properties, which he and his brothers inherited from their father. Thomas and brother Raymond were involved in the bribery case of Rafael Hui. In 2012, the investigation was done, and both were found involved. For this, Thomas was sentenced to jail along with Raymond for 5 years with a fine charge of USD0.5 million
Did you know these facts?
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