Yang Huaiding, a new-era tycoon nicknamed “Millionaire Yang,” passed away on Sunday at the age of 71, local media reported.

Part of China’s first generation of private investors, Yang took advantage of the reform and opening-up policy in the 1980s. He got his first pot of gold after earning over one million yuan (US$156,233) with 20,000 yuan in the bond market in 1988.

Born in the 50s, the self-made man once worked at a ferroalloy plant in Shanghai. He quitted his job in 1988 and made a fortune from buying and selling bonds. He shifted his attention to the stock market after the Shanghai Stock Exchange was set up in 1990. In 1993, Yang successfully dodged the market crash, making him a household name across the country.

According to the state-owned Securities Times, Yang was the first person in China to hire bodyguards and the country’s first to sue a securities company.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play