David Webb, Investor Who Took on Hong Kong Tycoons, Dies at 60

New York Times - WorldCenter-LeftEN 5 min read 100% complete by Tiffany MayJanuary 14, 2026 at 02:22 AM

AI Summary

long article 5 min

David Webb, a British activist investor who became a prominent figure in Hong Kong's financial scene, died at age 60 on Tuesday from metastatic prostate cancer. He moved to Hong Kong in 1991 and dedicated himself to advocating for minority shareholders and exposing corporate malfeasance. Webb created Webb-site, a free online database cataloging Hong Kong companies and their directors, which became a valuable resource for investigators and journalists. In 2017, he published a report exposing the "Enigma Network," a web of interconnected companies, leading to share price declines and government investigations into share price manipulation. Before moving to Hong Kong, Webb worked for investment banks in London and had already amassed enough wealth to focus on his investments and financial monitoring.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Exeter College, Oxford University 30% London ×240% People's Republic of China 40% Karen Webb 50% Britain ×250% Enigma Network 60% Webb-site 70% Hong Kong ×790% David Webb ×6100%

Keywords

david webb 100% hong kong 90% activist investor 80% financial transparency 80% minority shareholders 70% financial regulation 70% shady business dealings 60% corporate governance 60% investment 50% corporate investigators 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

New York Times - World

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.30)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Hong Kong

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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david webb hong kong activist investor financial transparency minority shareholders financial regulation shady business dealings corporate governance investment corporate investigators

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