High thinking for simpler living

When I read the news that there are more (US dollar) millionaires in China than in Britain, I did a Google search and found to my surprise that there are over 10 million entries under "Chinese super-rich". Private planes, expensive houses, yachts and cars, luxurious items, heavy betting in international casinos, beautiful women you name it, it has become part of the life-style of Chinese super-rich. The 364,000 Chinese super-rich and their extravagant consumption behavior do catch the attention of Westerners, especially those who want to push their luxury items in this ballooning market.

In a developing country with a per capita GDP lower than US$3,000 and the Gini's coefficient (which measures the income discrepancy in a country) standing at 0.45 high, the huge number of super-rich is not something to boast about. Although "getting rich is glorious" according to the venerable Deng Xiaoping, many of China's super-rich did not get rich the right way, leaving behind them a trail of corruption. Their conspicuous consumption is one of the major causes of social discontent, which is now fuelling sporadic unrest throughout the country.

Living in Hong Kong and formerly a businessman myself, I do not have a "soak the rich" attitude. But on the other hand, we have to address a few very fundamental questions.