Leo KoGuan, one of Tesla Inc’s largest individual shareholders, said he’s paring his stake in the automaker and putting some proceeds into government debt, fearing a selloff ahead.
“No longer all-in on Tesla,” the billionaire posted Saturday on X in response to a question whether he still holds the stock. “I am selling Tesla and accumulating 3-month Treasury Bills.”
His reason for selling: to hedge his portfolio. “1929-type stock market crash is looming,” he wrote, making unspecified references to trillions of dollars worth of government debt and fiscal deficits.
KoGuan didn’t respond to requests for comment about the size and pace of his selling. But if true, it’s a big change for the man who emerged as a Tesla whale during the 2021 everything-rally and told Bloomberg News in interviews about his belief in Elon Musk and ambition to keep adding to his stake in the carmaker until he was worth at least US$100 billion.
Tesla shares make up the bulk of KoGuan’s US$13.5 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He held 27.7 million shares as of May, roughly 0.9% of the company, according to records reviewed by Bloomberg News.
Born in Indonesia, educated in New York and currently residing in Singapore, KoGuan made his initial fortune from SHI International Corp, a Somerset, New Jersey-based enterprise software company he ran with his ex-wife.
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The 69-year-old has said he began buying Tesla in 2019 and quickly built a massive stake using stock options, doubling down again and again.
KoGuan has been increasingly critical of Musk since he bought X, saying the social media platform was diverting the entrepreneur’s time and attention away from Tesla. He also voted against Musk’s hotly contested pay package in a shareholder referendum in May, after it was struck down by a Delaware judge.
