China’s economy could become the world’s biggest within the decade, it’s also one of the most unequal.
Photographer: Yan Cong/BloombergChina’s Spoiled Rich Kids Learn to Avoid the Wrath of Xi Jinping
As inequality grows, the second generation of China's ultra-rich class wants to avoid becoming a target.
Over the years, China’s rich kids have become synonymous with obscene displays of wealth: Posing next to Bentleys and Lamborghinis, showing off stacks of yuan on social media and giving pets gold Apple watches, to name a few.
These days, however, that’s become more of an exception than the rule. Yes, they still hoard luxury goods and order $500 bottles of champagne, and occasionally somebody sparks outrage by driving a Mercedes into the Forbidden City. But on the whole they’re starting to understand it’s better to keep their heads down, particularly after President Xi Jinping’s government started targeting billionaires in the past few years.