A closer look
Bill Hwang executed the most spectacularly devastating margin call in modern history without anyone knowing he existed. Using financial derivatives called total return swaps, Hwang’s family office, Archegos, secretly bought massive stakes in companies like ViacomCBS. Because the banks technically held the shares, Hwang didn't have to disclose his positions. He effectively borrowed billions against his own inflated assets to buy more of them. When the underlying stocks dipped just a fraction, the leverage unwound instantly, evaporating $20 billion of wealth over a single weekend and nearly collapsing Credit Suisse.
