He was called the “King of Good Times” and became India’s richest liquor king at 28 after he took over his father’s mid-sized business. With this company, he made a fortune of $1.5 billion. As Kingfisher Airlines’ debts mounted, his financial woes began.
Vijay Mallya is best known for his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines business. His airline company, which was launched in 2005, became his undoing when its business model collapsed during the 2008 global financial crisis, brought to a screeching halt by surging fuel prices.
He fled to the UK after he was threatened with lawsuits by lenders following the collapse of the airline.
As a result of a burgeoning debt burden, Kingfisher Airlines was forced to cease operations in 2012. Additionally, the airline is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities and funds diversion.
As a result of a set of public-sector banks filing a case against him, Mallya left the country on 2 March 2016. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Acts declared him a fugitive economic offender in January 2019. (Source)
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7 Allen Stanford
Stanford was convicted for the second biggest Ponzi scheme in US history and is currently serving a 110-year sentence. More than 18,000 investors lost $7 billion in the Ponzi scheme, and they have yet to receive compensation for their losses.
Robert Allen Stanford is an American former banker who, in 2012, was found guilty of fraud involving a Ponzi scheme involving $7 billion in securities fraud. Stanford perpetrated this fraud by grossly misinforming the 50,000 investors about how well their investments were handled.
About 18,000 of his investors have not yet been repaid. Stanford was accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and convicted in 2012.
Being America’s richest man, Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison in 2012 ruling and has been indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stanford has claimed repeatedly that he is innocent and a victim of a false investigation. (1, 2)
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8 Patricia Kluge
Kluge invested a huge amount into a vineyard, which she gained from her high-profile divorce settlement. After the housing market crashed, Kluge lost all her money and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Kluge’s financial troubles began in 1999 when she established the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard on 960 acres near Albemarle with her third husband, William Moses. A few months after Kluge wines appeared on society tables, they headed to upscale restaurants as well.
Therefore, she decided to expand her business. She took out $65 million in loans and expanded the wine production. That was the beginning of the housing crisis. Buyers were not attracted to Vineyard Estates and its value plummeted.
Albemarle was put up for sale in 2009 by Kluge. It was initially listed as a $100 million property then was cut to $48 million in 2010 and then to $24 million. She then tried to sell other items to get rid of the loan but all her personal things including jewelry, art, furniture, etc. were only worth $15.1 million.
Since no buyer emerged for Albemarle in 2010, Kluge stopped making payments and was in default on nearly $24 million in Bank of America loans. Bank of America foreclosed on her home in January, and the estate was auctioned off in mid-February.
In the absence of an offer of more than $15 million, the bank took possession. The funds she raised were not sufficient to keep her from going bankrupt. Her vineyard job was even terminated by Trump after just a year. (1, 2)
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9 Aubrey McClendon
McClendon was the co-founder of the oil gas company “Chesapeake Energy” and had a net worth of $1.2 billion. In 2016, he was charged with federal conspiracy charges over unfair manipulation of drilling bids. He had massive debts and a net worth of zero when he died.
On 2 March 2016, John Raymond, the CEO of the EMG (Energy and Minerals Group), sent a notice to all his investors that he would no longer be working with Aubrey McClendon. He turned his Chesapeake Energy company into the country’s second-biggest natural gas company.
He was, however, on the verge of a surprising fall. Federal prosecutors accused McClendon of rigging drilling bids, an antitrust violation, one day before Raymond sent out his memo. McClendon’s newly formed company, American Energy Partners, had poured more than $3 billion into EMG.
On 2 March, he went to his office and sent a few emails. He then leaped into his 2013 Chevy Tahoe without his security detail. He left American Energy’s headquarters in Oklahoma City and headed north.
Less than twenty minutes later at 78 miles per hour, he swerved out of the right lane, crossed the road, and hit a bridge abutment. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt and died right on the spot. (Source)
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10 Sean Quinn
Quinn was the richest person in Ireland, but his bad investments made him lose most of his $2.8 billion fortune. In November 2011, he said that he had less than 55,000 pounds when he filed for bankruptcy.
In March 2008, Sean Quinn was the 164th richest person in the world, having a net worth of $6 billion. As of 2008, Quinn was the richest person in Ireland and the 12th richest in the UK.
Quinn was a self-made businessman who started a multi-billion pound business network by selling gravel that he quarried from his family’s farm in Derrylin.
In 2010, his entire business empire collapsed, and in 2011, he filed for bankruptcy.
According to RTE, the bank that called in his loans has a vendetta against him. However, IBRC said they were just attempting to recoup two billion euros the Quinn family owed them. Quinn was sentenced to jail in November 2012 for three counts of contempt of court. (1, 2)
