The founder and former president of the Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, Xu Jiayin, was sentenced this Thursday to life in prison by a Shenzhen court for financial fraud. The sentence, issued in the first instance, also orders the confiscation of all his assets and the deprivation of political rights for life. The conviction culminates the downfall of one of China's most powerful businessmen. Xu became the richest man in the country in 2017, when Forbes estimated his fortune at 42.5 billion dollars.