Editor's note: This article was translated and edited from an article which appeared in the Changjiang Daily. The article concerns a new study which is the first official report on members of the "fuerdai" (富二代) generation, which is the popular designation for children of wealthy entrepreneurs who made their fortunes during Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms of the 1980's. Through hundreds of surveys and interviews, the study reports on many aspects of their personal lives, touching on spending habits, drug use, and thoughts on following in their parent's footsteps versus making it on their own.

Some children of wealthy parents are rampant hedonists, others work hard to succeed. So are they caterpillars or butterflies? There appears to be no simple answer.

Chinese society has a word for the children of wealthy entrepreneurs who emerged during economic reforms of the 1980's: "fuerdai" (literally "rich second generation"). The group has long existed in the public consciousness but only recently found itself the subject of a systematic investigation. The recently published report, entitled "China's Fuerdai Survey Report", is a joint project of China Youth Daily financial reporter Tao Tao and finance writer Yu Yi and features interviews from members of Relay China, the country's largest community of young wealthy Chinese.

Through a survey sent out to 600 individuals and 110 in-depth interviews, the two authors offer us a unique tour through the private lives of the "fuerdai", including their school lives, work lives, love lives, even the details of their inheritances, always striving for a fair and objective look at the group they call "Fuerdai 2.0".

The official standard: 18-35 years old, male, bachelor's degree and above

"China's Fuerdai Survey Report" sent out 600 surveys and got back 586. To preserve the quality of responses, survey results were only accepted from persons over 18 years of age, with no obvious signs of mental issues.

Male to female ratio among respondents was 7:3. The authors believe the gender disparity is caused by family effects in addition to population trends. Parents of "fuerdai" children often adhere to the policy of teaching certain skills only to male offspring, thus tending to impart more ability to succeed to sons rather than daughters.

From an age perspective, Chinese "fuerdai" are relatively young, mainly 18 to 35 years of age, 33.1% of which are between 26 and 30.

"Fuerdai" are generally highly educated, with more than 86.2% holding bachelor's degrees or above. 43.5% hold degrees from overseas universities, of which 64% choose majors in economic or business management.

46.4% of "fuerdai" start their own businesses, with another 29.7% otherwise employed and the remaining 23.9% either awaiting employment or remaining unemployed. The authors found a number of justifications "fuerdai" provided for starting their own businesses, including proving self-worth, gaining entrepreneurial experience, and/or lack of interest in their parents' business. Reasons cited for awaiting employment or remaining unemployed include still attending school, not having made distinct plans after graduating, or "just too lazy; don't want to work".

Marriage rates among "fuerdai" were found to be relatively high: 46% of respondents are already married. Of those, 24.7% were the active party in the marriage. 90% said their decision was consistent with their parents' family-matching suggestions. On the subject of extra-marital affairs, 44% of those interviewed maintain it to be a normal social phenomenon.

Labels: cool cars, nice digs, parties, travel, joyrides, gambling, drugs

Another important section of the survey focused on spending habits. Of those surveyed, 59.3% own two or more cars, whose prices range from several hundred thousand to several million RMB, with none priced at less than 200,000 RMB. 36.5% have two residences in their name, also receiving a monthly spending allowance from their parents of several thousand, ten thousand, or even hundreds of thousands of RMB.

"Fuerdai" have long been accustomed to luxury goods. 74.7% of those defended luxury items as necessary purchases, symbols of their identity and status. As to motivation, many cited a desire to buy items comparable to or better than those of people around them.

Leisure-related spending among "fuerdai" tends to fall under "parties" or "travel". 66.2% of respondents spent over 60,000 RMB a year on travel, some more than 200,000 RMB. 71.3% spent more than 60,000 RMB a year on parties, mainly on karaoke, bars and mahjong.

Joyriding is another notorious pastime of the "fuerdai". 36.9% reported partaking in joyriding, with 81% choosing city highways as the preferred locale. Despite being seen as naive and foolish by seasoned gamblers, 65.4% of those interviewed reported gambling occasionally, defining "light gambling" as "winning or losing less than a million RMB".

One may be tempted to wonder about the veracity of responses about drug use: 93% of those interviewed denied ever having used drugs, while 66% said they knew other "fuerdai" who frequently do.

Tough question: start your own business or take up the family one?

Starting a new business versus following in the family footsteps is a tough decision all "fuerdai" are forced to face at some point. Of those surveyed, 37.7% prefer not to work at their own family's enterprise. Some find their parents' businesses too unsophisticated, others prefer to try to prove themselves, still others find administration too tiring or uninteresting. After taking a job at their parents' companies, 39% of interviewees found themselves in conflict with managerial interests, their attempts at reform blocked. 21% reported being challenged by senior management.

Such was the impetus for "Relay China," an organisation founded in 2008 by more liberal-minded "fuerdai" who sought a fair platform to develop their ideas with a like-minded community, hoping to improve their disadvantage towards their parents' generation, and to assuage some of the loneliness brought on by the large generation gap in the workplace.

A wide variety of new "fuerdai" training programmes have taken advantage of the social phenomenon. 71% of the children of wealthy families interviewed reported having taken part in one of these programmes. According to sources, tuition at one programme in Shanghai is more than 668,000 RMB. Classrooms tend not to be fixed, with some classes even meeting overseas. Curriculum often includes finance classes, golf training, horse riding, tea ceremonies, China studies, personal style lessons, and tasting lessons. The study also reports many "fuerdai" attend these training programmes at their parents behest as grooming for continuing the family business.

Source: Changjiang Daily
 

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Keywords: Fuerdai China children of wealthy Chinese lifestyle of rich Chinese second generation wealth China