In a country run by the Communist Party, it is hard to believe China now has more billionaires than any country besides the United States. According to Forbes' "Rich List", the number of Chinese billionaires more than doubled in the last year. These days as long as you don't meddle in politics, it seems you can make as much money as you want.
It's a stark contrast to decades ago when getting rich was unfashionable and unpatriotic. During Chairman Mao's time, wealthy landlords and capitalists were persecuted. But as China's isolated economy opened up to the rest of the world, successor Chairman Deng Xiaoping proclaimed "to get rich is glorious". The constitution was later amended to protect private wealth.
China's richest man ranks 103rd on the list, Zong Qinghou, the Chairman of Wahaha, a soft drink company. Also in China's top five, Wang Chuanfu, founder of car company, BYD. Coincidentally an investor in BYD is fellow billionaire, Warren Buffett. Other Chinese billionaires are involved in manufacturing, the property market and the Internet sector. And with China's economy growing so fast, analysts say we will only see more Chinese billionaires next year and that they will be even richer.
Emily Chang, cnn, Beijing.
Glossary:
Meddle: to touch something which you should not touch
Stark: unpleasantly clear and impossible to avoid
