[2] He particularly invested in the Gambier Islands, to produce black pearls that garnered international attention.
Over the years, he expanded his holdings, acquiring farms on islands such as Marutea Sud and Nengonengo.
[2] In July 1973 he purchased the Tahiti Pearls company with his brothers.
[4] He became the richest man in French Polynesia, until a collapse in the pearl market in 1998.
The sale sparked a criminal probe for misuse of public funds,[6] and Wan and a number of leading politicians, including former president Gaston Flosse, were charged with corruption.