Why China’s Super Rich Are Sending Their Kids West

I just read a fascinating article in the New Yorker Magazine about China’s fuerdai, the new wealthy “1%” in China.

For the past 2 centuries, China has been very poor so this new class of billionaires is known as the rich second generation. These nouveau riche don’t have previous generations to guide them on how to behave in public like the aristocrats of the west. China’s government has recently provided a crash course in traditional Chinese values and social responsibility to 70 children of billionaires. Meanwhile, reality shows like “Ultra Rich Asian Girls of Vancouver” are watched by Chinese people all over the world.  Hmm.  It’s kinda like the obsession Americans have with the “Housewives of…” and the Kardashians.  Nope, not me – never watched any of these shows!

The super rich in China are sending their kids to the west for education and culture. Good schools in China are almost impossible to get into, so these parents are sending their kids to western high schools and colleges. One of my Chinese students told me that many of her friends’ Chinese parents aren’t concerned about the quality of the education, but just about the reputation of the school and the grades they receive.

In order to diversify and protect their finances, these super rich families want their children to purchase real estate and establish roots outside of China. They aren’t looking to reel their children back to China like they did during the last century. Interesting…

[Source:The New Yorker]