If you've got the money, give it (away)

Indian newspapers went into raptures last week when the Forbes' global billionaires list was released: Four of the top 10 were from the country. The hyperbole can be forgiven since a decade ago, any such suggestion would have been laughed off as a scam orchestrated by phishers (or their predecessors) from a country famous for it.

The coverage was only a little less muted in China, where the number of billionaires in the top 500 hit 42, up from 20 last year.

Only a generation ago, austerity was the archetype for the wealthy in India. By and large, ostentation was odious. Today, they got it, and they flaunt it.