The Rich Act The Same The World Over!

Chinese activist, Xu Zhiyong, has led a call for more information about the wealth of China's capitalists who are not required to publicly disclose their assets. However, investigative journalists have found that between $1 trillion and $4 trillion in untraced assets have left China since 2000. The rich are invited to join any one of a dozen new polo clubs in China where fees are $165,000 and they can even buy a mansion on the club grounds for as little as $90 million! Twenty-two thousand have taken advantage of offshore tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands. Xu Zhiyong and the organization he represents probably mean well but would do better to work for a society where accumulation of such wealth alongside widespread poverty would be unknown and unattainable.

Meanwhile the Star statisticians reported that China's rich are getting wanderlust – no national loyalty there. In a survey of 393 Chinese millionaires, it was found that 64% have emigrated or are planning to do so. Thirty-three per cent of the super rich (more than $16 million) have homes elsewhere. Eighty per cent want their children educated abroad mostly in the US or Britain, 772 received American investor green cards (given to people who invest more than one million dollars) in 2010 and that number grew to 6,124 in 2012. Conclusion – the rich act the same the world over – do anything anywhere anytime that money will allow you to do. John Ayers