How Much Money Did Jho Low Steal? What is Jho Low Net Worth? – A Malaysian businessman named Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, is wanted by authorities worldwide in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scam (1MDB scandal). According to the prosecution, he is accountable for the driving force behind the significant fraud, which was a plot to divert US$4.5 billion from 1MDB into Low’s personal accounts. He receives several assets from discretionary trusts that the US government claims were obtained through payments made from Malaysia’s 1MDB fund.
After all, he is wanted by the authorities for a plot involving not just foreign shell companies but also politicians and celebrities, as shown in ABC’s episode “The Con: The Billion Dollar Con.” We now have the information you need to determine the specifics of his profits, his theft, and his present potential net worth if you simply want to understand more about his career history.
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Who Was Jho Low and How Much Money Did Jho Low Steal?
Jho Low, who was born on November 4, 1981, is the youngest of three children and comes from a wealthy Malaysian Chinese Teochew family that has managed to keep a low profile. It comes as no surprise then that he was able to enrol in the famous, independent boarding school, Harrow School, in London, before moving on to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He allegedly began his business by managing money for friends and family after combining his connections and investment skills, only to increase his personal fortunes gradually.
The Kuwait Finance House’s 2006 acquisition of an opulent high-rise apartment complex in Kuala Lumpur for US$87 million was Low’s first significant transaction. The New York Times reports that by 2007, Low had established an investment group with a Malaysian prince, a Kuwaiti sheikh, and a friend from the United Arab Emirates. They later went on to serve as ambassadors to the United States and Mexico, and are currently one of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi’s most powerful right-hand men. By 2010, Low had combined his wealth into Jynwel Capital, serving as the company’s primary overseer.
As custodian of Jynwel, Low developed connections with some of the world’s biggest and most reputable sovereign wealth funds, such as the Kuwait Investment Authority and Mubadala Development Co. of Abu Dhabi. Jynwel was involved in transactions such as the purchase of the Park Lane Hotel in New York for US$660 million in 2013 with The Witkoff Group and Mubadala, the US$2.2 billion acquisition of Coastal Energy in 2014, and the US$2.2 billion purchase of EMI’s music publishing division with the Blackstone Group, Sony Corporation, and Mubadala in 2012. In October 2014, Low designed Jynwel Capital’s unsuccessful US$2.2 billion offer to acquire Reebok from Adidas AG.
Aziz founded Red Granite Pictures, a Hollywood production business behind movies including Wolf of Wall Street and Dumb and Dumber To, with the assistance of Low. Both in 2013 and 2016, the US government took legal proceedings to recover the rights to both films. In August 2018, the claims were resolved, and it was agreed that the payment should not be interpreted as “an acknowledgement of wrongdoing or guilt on the part of Red Granite.”
As a result, Jho did it all—from dating Miranda Kerr to hanging out with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio—and earned the moniker “Asian Great Gatsby” in the process. However, it was his participation in the ostensibly government-run strategic development firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that brought him to national and worldwide attention. He allegedly never held a formal role with the organization, but he did work as a “consultant” to plan the scam that resulted in the theft of billions of dollars between 2009 and 2014.
The initial intent of 1MDB was to seek investments and initiatives for the development of Malaysia. However, the money was instead diverted through offshore bank accounts and shell organisations to benefit specific people. The US Department of Justice estimates that Jho and his accomplices—including officials—stole a total of more than $4.5 billion; each individual’s share appears to be close to $1 billion. It is important to note that the businessman is reportedly also the owner of several discretionary assets, all obtained through the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund.
Jho Low Net Worth
Jho Low is accused of doing everything possible to hide his $100 million investment in Red Granite Pictures, $8 million jewellery gift to Miranda Kerr, a portfolio of international real estate, and extravagant purchases of a yacht, a private jet, and original paintings. All of this happened before investigations into the case started in the late 2010s. Despite his insistence on his innocence, he ultimately fled after being accused of crimes in both Malaysia and the US. However, based on what we can discern, Jho probably still leads a luxury lifestyle, given that he still has a net worth of over $150 million.
Newspapers reported that Low received a Cypriot passport in September 2015 on November 3, 2019. According to reports, Low received the passport through the investment programme for obtaining Cypriot citizenship “within two days after investing in some property” in Cyprus. Although Low had no arrest warrant at the time for the 1MDB crisis, he was already being looked at. The information about Low’s Cypriot citizenship came to light following the Cyprus Papers leak, which exposed the Cypriot government’s decision to issue citizenship to elites from Cambodia, and raised questions about the legitimacy of the citizenship investment system.
Low is thought to reside in China, where he frequently travels through essential towns in stealth. According to an Al-Jazeera article from November 2020, Low was residing in “a mansion owned by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party” in Macau. Despite Malaysian authorities issuing an Interpol red notice and claiming these measures are politically motivated, he has been able to travel without restriction. The communist government of China has denied low asylum.
