Sixteen of them, nearly half of the respondents, are Party members. This percentage is close to that in government, which the surveyors said they were surprised to learn.

Though most of them said their careers are only part of their lives, they tend to value career and wealth most, above marriage and family.

Most of these millionaires said do not believe in any formal religion. Only 10 said they were Buddhists. Half of them said they were tolerant of extramarital affairs in general.

At the end of last year, there were 4.39 million private enterprises and 11.09 million private entrepreneurs on the mainland, according to statistics from the country's industrial and commercial administration. About 2,200 private enterprises have registered capital of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million), the administration said.