Who was the richest man in Qing Dynasty? Why did he say "don't go near the white tiger"?

The richest man in the Qing Dynasty refers to Hu Xueyan, a famous red-crowned businessman in the late Qing Dynasty, who has a special status as both an official and a businessman. "Don't go near the white tiger." The white tiger here refers to silver. Hu Xueyan was prosperous in the first half of his life and poor in the second half. Before he died, he warned future generations to "stay away from the white tiger" to warn future generations not to covet money, to know how to retreat quickly and not to be confused by money.

Hu Xueyan was born in poverty and began to travel at the age of 13. Later, he was accepted as an apprentice by the shopkeeper of Fukang Qianzhuang. Because the shopkeeper had no son, he entrusted his bank to Hu Xueyan, so Hu Xueyan became the boss of the bank at the age of 19. With money, Hu Xueyan climbed to Wang Youling and became a government official, while Wang Youling became the governor of Hangzhou and Zhejiang. With the support of Wang Youling, Hu Xueyan began to represent the government in grain transportation and grain, but in ten years, half of the financial power in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces was in his hands.

After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement broke out, Hangzhou was captured by Hong Xiuquan. At the time of crisis, Hu Xueyan donated a lot of food and finance to the Qing army, which was appreciated by the left. With the support of Zuo, Hu Xueyan earned a lot of money, and Empress Dowager Cixi also gave him a yellow jacket, which became a veritable red-topped businessman, and Hu Xueyan's momentum reached its peak.

Unfortunately, everything in the world will decline, and Hu Xueyan is becoming more and more greedy. In the eighth year of Guangxu, Hu Xueyan set up a silk factory to monopolize the whole silk weaving industry, which caused dissatisfaction from all sides. At this time, the Qing government also removed his Dai Hualing, and Hu Xueyan was completely abolished. As a result, Hu Xueyan spent the rest of his life in poverty. Starting from his own life experience, he warned future generations not to go near the white tiger and never covet silver. It's sad to watch Hu Xueyan's life.