Calvin Lo, the CEO of R.E. Lee International, a Hong Kong life insurance brokerage firm, has spent years trying to portray himself as a billionaire-financier-cum-philanthropist with a lavish lifestyle and high-profile investments. However, an investigation by Forbes reveals that most of his claims are fiction.
Lo attempted to get on Forbes’ list of billionaires and reached out to multiple reporters, claiming to be the “most under-the-radar billionaire philanthropist” and a private and elusive billionaire investor. He submitted numerous documents to support his supposed wealth, but Forbes was skeptical due to the lack of credible evidence.
Despite the doubts, several media outlets including the BBC, Financial Times, Reuters picked up the story and ran articles calling Lo a billionaire, often citing Forbes as a source. Even Forbes Middle East published a paid “advertorial” from Lo’s team that falsely labeled him a billionaire. In reality, Lo never made it to Forbes’ Billionaires list.
Forbes conducted a year-long investigation, speaking with numerous sources and examining documents to separate fact from fiction. They discovered that many of Lo’s claims could not be verified, and some were outright lies. For instance, he does not own the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, and he has no stake in the Williams Formula 1 racing team.
Furthermore, Lo’s education credentials were also questionable. While he did graduate from Queen’s University, claims of attending Harvard Business School could not be verified. His ex-wife accused him of lying about his age and other aspects of his life during their divorce proceedings.
Lo’s supposed charity foundation, the CFL Initiative, Global, was also found to be non-existent, and four Thai law firms he hired to vouch for his fortune did not conduct independent verification of his claims.
His insurance business, R.E. Lee International, was estimated to be worth around $60 million, far less than the billions he boasted. Forbes’ investigation concluded that Lo, along with his parents, is worth less than $200 million combined.
Despite Forbes’ findings, Lo continued to claim billionaire status. When confronted with the investigation results, he expressed disinterest in being featured on Forbes’ wealth rankings and stated that he did not want to be written about in the magazine.
Ultimately, Lo’s audacious claims and attempts to fabricate his wealth have been exposed, making him yet another example of individuals attempting to mislead Forbes and the public about their financial standing.
