Rich get thriftier in times of need as fortunes shrink

SHANGHAI: Faced with a sharp decline in their net worth, extravagant Chinese millionaires are tightening their belts, too. Even the Cartier remains a Cartier.

"In the two months from early September to early November, the average wealth of the richest who own listed companies shrank by 45 percent, after an over-20 percent fall earlier in 2008," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of luxury publishing group Hurun Report, which releases the Hurun Rich List of Chinese tycoons and entrepreneurs annually.

"Since then, the number probably came down further," Hoogewerf said, adding that people have a lot less cash to play with after tens of millions of yuan worth of their assets evaporated in the stock market.