HIGH-FLYER ON THE RUN
HE’S known as the Asian Great Gatsby because of his love of debauched parties, and as Malaysia’s Imelda Marcos thanks to his obsession with the finer things in life. Hollywood stars, models, Wall Street bankers and Middle Eastern princes were drawn to him like flies to a honeypot and those who hung out with him describe him as the biggest spender they’d ever seen.
They aren’t exaggerating. Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho once gambled away $2 million (R29 million) in 10 minutes. On another occasion he blew $2,38 million (R34,5 million) on a “bottle parade” – a stream of oversized champagne bottles carried by skimpily clad models.
One friend recalls how they’d be having lunch in London and he’d say, “Who wants to have dinner in New York?”
“Then he’d charter a jet and before you know it you’re having dinner with the best wine in Manhattan. Nothing was out of reach.”
Except now it seems Low is. The 37-year-old is in hiding as investigations into dirty dealings that allegedly funded his lavish lifestyle intensify around the world – and if he’s found guilty he could be responsible for one of the biggest financial heists the world has ever seen.
Prosecutors claim he stole at least $4,5 billion (R65,2 billion) from a giant Malaysian government investment fund, 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), between 2009 and 2015.
The fund was created to encourage foreign investment in the country but prosecutors believe it was used to steal state funds. They claim the money was then transferred into the accounts of Low and former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (65).
Low is also accused of laundering $450 million (R6,5 billion) through bank accounts in Singapore, the Cayman Islands, the United States and Switzerland. Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been implicated in Low's al94 leged crimes.
LCOMPILED BY KIM ABRAHAMS
Details of his jaw-dropping antics are laid out in a new book, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World.
Low, from wherever he’s hiding, vehemently denies the claims made by authors Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, calling the book “guilt by lifestyle and trial by media at its worst”.
But investigators are moving in fast and the possessions Low once treasured – and gifts he once lavished on A-list friends and lovers – are disappearing as fast as the millions he blew on casino tables. OW grew up in a wealthy family in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. His grandfather, Low Meng Tak, built the family’s fortune in China and Thailand through iron-ore mining and liquor distilleries. His millionaire father, Larry Low Hock Peng, was an executive for an investment holding company.
When he was 16 Low was sent to the exclusive Harrow School in London, where he befriended kids from some of the world’s richest families.
“That time was very important for me,” he said in 2010. “That’s when I built the core foundation of contacts for the future.”But it’s also around that time his penchant for bending the truth emerged.
One summer he invited a group of school friends to spend the holidays with