https://www.scmp.com/rss/328243/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3127964/powerlifting-wealthy-women-entrepreneurs-and-dim-sum-master?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3127964/powerlifting-wealthy-women-entrepreneurs-and-dim-sum-master?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Apr 2021 08:00:06 +0000 The United States leads the world in the number of ultra-rich individuals, but it was China that saw the fastest gain in 2020, according to the latest Wealth Report by property consultancy Knight Frank. It seems the Covid-19 pandemic did little to dampen the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest. In China, its elite club of people whose net worth exceeds US$30 million, excluding their primary residence, grew by 16% in 2020 compared to an 11% growth in the number of Sweden’s ultra-rich residents and... https://www.scmp.com/business/chinas-super-wealthy-set-grow-46-next-five-years-report-claims/article/3123586?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/chinas-super-wealthy-set-grow-46-next-five-years-report-claims/article/3123586?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:18:47 +0000 Watches, diamonds, gold and leather goods were among the luxury items that made up a whopping US$54 billion spent by China’s wealthiest families last year. With coronavirus severely curtailing all international travel – and extravagant shopping excursions to Paris, Dubai, New York and London – affluent families in China have been forced to shop up a storm at home in a bid to reduce their anxiety about border closures that keep them stuck in China. “Before the outbreak, we would travel abroad a... https://www.scmp.com/society/money-burn-chinese-elite-swap-international-travel-high-end-spending-home/article/3118195?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/money-burn-chinese-elite-swap-international-travel-high-end-spending-home/article/3118195?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2021 10:13:28 +0000 For years, China’s wealthiest have strived to gain residency overseas in order to protect their assets, but the pandemic has complicated matters.  Many are now facing a million-dollar question, do they stay in China and risk losing their assets, or move abroad where they risk contracting the virus? According to consultants and business people, many are conflicted and feel pressured that the Chinese government could seize their assets in what is perceived as a campaign against business... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-rich-nervous-move-assets-overseas-amid-pandemic-crisis/article/3116332?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-rich-nervous-move-assets-overseas-amid-pandemic-crisis/article/3116332?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jan 2021 11:09:55 +0000 If ever there was a barometer of China’s rich and poor divide, it is a new report on how much people spend on entertainment and leisure activities. Almost 45% of the population - equivalent to 620 million people in China – spend less than US$153 on entertainment for the entire year, a new survey reveals. About 4.1% of respondents said they spent nothing on leisure. “The last time I went to a wedding reception in a neighboring village, I spent 80 yuan (US$12) on a gift,” said Luo Xiu, who is in... https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:43:01 +0000 Sarah Zheng Sarah Zheng As the pandemic took hold this year, thousands of entrepreneurs watched helplessly as their fortunes vanished overnight – but not China’s hottest live-streaming star, Viya.  Instead, her popularity and net worth of some US$30 million continued to skyrocket.  The 35-year-old is among China’s wealthiest millennials who increased their wealth in 2020 to a combined US$223 billion.  According to the latest wealth rankings from the respected Hurun Report, the country had 60 billionaires aged under 40... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-richest-millennials-boost-their-wealth-combined-us223-billion/article/3112902?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-richest-millennials-boost-their-wealth-combined-us223-billion/article/3112902?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2020 11:33:50 +0000 When French economist Thomas Piketty published his acclaimed Capital in the 21st Century in 2013, it was an immediate hit upon release in China, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. The nearly 700-page book, an analysis and critique of modern capitalism and inequality, even won praise from President Xi Jinping. In a 2015 speech he used its findings on surging inequality in the United States and Europe to claim that Marxist political economy was as relevant as ever. But Piketty’s new... https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-falling-out-love-thomas-piketty/article/3099512?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-falling-out-love-thomas-piketty/article/3099512?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:42:41 +0000 He Xiangjian, the Chinese billionaire who founded the world’s biggest home appliances maker Midea Group and was the victim of a recent botched kidnap attempt, is a man of few words. The man with a $25 billion fortune shares only 26 words with his staff and customers on Midea’s official website. But plenty has been written about He – China’s sixth-richest person, according to Forbes – since June 14, when five kidnappers with explosives held the 77-year-old for ransom after breaking into his... https://www.scmp.com/business/reclusive-chinese-billionaire-whose-kidnapping-brought-unwanted-fame/article/3090127?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/reclusive-chinese-billionaire-whose-kidnapping-brought-unwanted-fame/article/3090127?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jun 2020 12:10:32 +0000 Averaging €300 for 100 grams (about $1,350 per pound) – but with the largest specimens selling for substantially more – highly sought-after white truffles from Italy’s northern Piedmont region are commonly called “white gold.” The Chinese love affair with these musky-tasting truffles has given rise to a niche industry of cooks, businessmen and millionaires from Shanghai to Singapore. They have become the main buyers of the expensive delicacy and the major protagonists in the annual truffle drama... https://www.scmp.com/food/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles/article/3047288?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/food/why-wealthy-chinese-love-italys-white-truffles/article/3047288?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jan 2020 11:09:30 +0000 On October 15, 2018, 46-year-old tech expert Jason, from New York, flew to Hong Kong on a week-long business trip.  He checked into a room at the Four Seasons, in Central, and when a lunch appointment was canceled, he happily nursed an afternoon drink at the hotel’s Pool Bar. “Then I looked up,” he recalls, “and this incredible, striking woman walked in.” Jason remembers her warmly embracing the waitstaff, who responded with a fawning adoration reserved for regular clients. “She was shown to the... https://www.scmp.com/style/rise-and-fall-hong-kong-socialite-azura/article/3043364?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/style/rise-and-fall-hong-kong-socialite-azura/article/3043364?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:45:45 +0000