A quite remarkable transformation has occurred in Hong Kong where wealth creation and wealth creators were once widely admired but have come to be viewed with suspicion or something worse. How has this happened?
It is hard to pinpoint when this turnabout occurred but we do know how the admiration for wealth arose.
In a largely immigrant society, people learn to be self-reliant and show great respect for those pulling themselves out of poverty by their own efforts and demonstrating a flair to get things done.
In Hong Kong, things were skewed by the presence of a colonial government, which sort of comprised the ruling class but was made up of transient bureaucrats, most of whom could not even speak the language of the people they governed.
Adjacent to this group was a smattering of old Hong Kong money and, after 1949, an infusion of rich Shanghainese who came to dominate the business world.
It took another three decades before other local people started to make their mark and began filling the leading roles which had been the preserve of outsiders.