26 January 2015

China’s New “Bling Dynasty” Portrayed in 1 Article & 2 Videos (Warning: Major Conspicuous Consumption)

Wonder what Mao would have thought of all this lavishing vast personal wealth on the most decadent of foreign brands…

Devin Friedman, “The Bling Dynasty,” GQ (January 2015).

You probably know that people are getting rich in China. They lag only behind America in sheer number of billionaires. And you probably know that all of that money is new. But do you know what the hundreds of billionaires (and tens of thousands of millionaires) are going to do with their money? Well, neither do they! Lucky for them, there is an army of Western luxury-lifestyle purveyors coming to teach them how to act rich. Devin Friedman ventures to China to partake in a gaudy crash course in the centuries-old art of snobbery…

Chinese Kids Driving Supercars: Inside the Secret Southern California Meet-up,” Voactiv, 18 November 2014.

China’s ultra-rich are growing in number and in wealth – and are sending billions of dollars out of the country. Much of it is landing up in the U.S. where many children of the wealthy elite are sent to get an American college education — and they’re living large. Vocativ found a sub-culture of these Chinese students in California. They drive luxury cars like Maseratis and Ferraris and flaunt their wealth at discreet private parties and in online groups, like “Super Cars in America”…

[Dialogues translated correctly with one notable exception.]

The California Town Where Chinese Millionaires House their Kids—and Mistresses,” Vocativ, 5 December 2014.

The town of Arcadia California has gained the nickname “the Chinese Beverly Hills.” Peggy Fong Chen, who makes a living selling high priced real estate in Arcadia, says that almost all of her buyers are from Mainland China. She also pointed out that almost all of her clients pay for their multi million dollar homes in cash. Many Chinese billionaires buy these homes along with exotic cars for their children who are often sent to American colleges. Others use these mansions for the less wholesome purpose of housing their mistresses. Whatever their reasons may be the Chinese elite are buying up American real estate to the tune of $22 billion last year alone. …