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For some people, the phrase ‘fake it ’til you make it’ is not just a line said in jest. A Hong Kong businessman has recently been exposed in an Inventing Anna-level story of delusion and fame.

The man in question, Calvin Lo, has spent years marketing himself as the world’s “most under-the-radar billionaire philanthropist”, but does that count if you’ve made up most of your CV?

Lo claims to be the most successful insurance broker in the world, with the title of CEO for R.E. Lee International.

Forbes explains in a new tell-all piece that, at first, the magazine found it amusing that Lo joined the ranks of the many people trying to bluff their way onto their annual billionaires list. This kind of schmoozing to get recognised by Forbes is apparently common, but Lo took it to the next level.

When eleven different reporters from Forbes were hassled by seven different people on behalf of Lo since 2020, the team decided to look into this peculiar character.

Lo eventually managed to get a meeting with Forbes, which the magazine sussed out straight away as a way for the businessman to make connections. The magazine’s team realised immediately that the amount of cash Lo was claiming to have made through insurance brokering was simply not believe-able, or possible.

Plus, there’s all these stories that Lo regaled Forbes with that can be proven to be nothing but hot air. For instance, the cocky businessman assured his interviewer that he is now part-owner of Formula 1 team Williams Racing, through an investment that he claims is the equivalent of R1 billion.

“Just between ourselves, I mean, there’s massive amounts of NDAs [nondisclosure agreements], but I definitely have interest in it … But I can’t say too much,” Lo teased.

Forbes checked the facts and, as it turns out, the Williams F1 team owners haven’t a cooking clue who Lo even is.

The sneaky entrepreneur even shared F1 moments on his social media, showing off the ‘high life’:

 

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Poor Forbes was drawn into more of Lo’s shenanigans after the meeting, as he proceeded to tell huge media houses including BBC, CNBC, the Daily Express, the Daily Mirror, the Financial Times, the Independent, Nikkei Asia, Reuters and the South China Morning Post, that he was in fact a billionaire. The cheeky blighter used Forbes as his source of ‘proof’ of his wealth.

While Forbes is trying to set the record straight with their in-depth unpacking of Lo’s actual story here, let’s be honest – it’s a damn good story.

Nudge-nudge Netflix, your new Anna Sorokin has arrived.

[source:forbes]