The Fall from Grace
Becoming a billionaire is hard. Staying one can be even harder. Some billionaires don't just see their fortunes decline—they lose everything, sometimes ending up in prison.
The Fallen Angels
Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX)
- Peak Wealth: $26.5 billion
- Current Status: Prison
- What Happened: Fraud, misappropriation of customer funds
- Time to Fall: 2 weeks
Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos)
- Peak Wealth: $4.5 billion (paper)
- Current Status: Prison
- What Happened: Fraud, fake blood-testing technology
- Time to Fall: 3 years
Bill Hwang (Archegos)
- Peak Wealth: $20 billion
- Current Status: Facing trial
- What Happened: Leveraged bets collapsed
- Time to Fall: 2 days
Eike Batista (OGX)
- Peak Wealth: $34 billion
- Current Status: Convicted of corruption
- What Happened: Oil company bankruptcy
- Time to Fall: 2 years
Common Patterns
- Concentration: All had wealth concentrated in single assets
- Leverage: Many used borrowed money to amplify returns
- Fraud: Several crossed legal lines
- Hubris: All believed they were invincible
The Chronos Score Lesson
The Chronos Score measures potential, not guaranteed outcomes. A high Chronos Score means nothing if the underlying wealth evaporates.
These fallen angels remind us that wealth preservation requires:
- Diversification
- Ethical behavior
- Risk management
- Humility
See who's at risk with our Fallen Angels tracker.