Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation

Dangerous and Out-of Control ? Understanding China’s Fu’erdai Generation
Sep 05, 2013 By Seve Findlater , eChinacities.com

Deng Xiaoping famously said “to get rich is glorious” ; signifying a break from the anti-capitalist early days of modern China. This new mantra was taken to heart by the people and the country saw its wealthy grow to unimaginable numbers. According to Forbes, the country is currently home to 122 billionaires and reports have predicted the number of millionaires will reach two million by 2017. The staggering growth of the number of wealthy individuals in a country once teetering on the edge of financial ruin only four decades ago has changed the face of modern China giving rise to a whole new section of society – the fu’erdai, the sons and daughters of those who mainly got rich during the reform years. More than just rich children, this social group could have possible monumental effects on the country.

Role as consumer

Luxury brands Prada, Giorgio Armani and Burberry have all said that China is an ever more important market, but in a country where half the population is still rural and factory workers only earn 200 USD a month, it is clear that even with an increasingly wealthy (yet still poor by global standards) urban population keen to splurge on status items, most luxury goods are still out of reach for the majority of the population. China has been estimated to account for around 20-25% of global luxury sales, but for a population largely without the means to acquire such expensive products, who is snapping up these luxury goods ?

According to some, it is the fu’erdai. Their role as consumers is ever growing, leading many outside the country to keep an eye firmly on their ranks. A reporter for the Hurun Report rich list said, “Certainly we need to be aware of and understand this group,” adding that they are of growing significance. With the global economy still sluggish and the freehand spending habits of the fu’erdai, many Western brands (from high end fashion to yachts and supercars) are targeting this niche group to woo the 21st century’s biggest spenders and sustain their profit margins for the forseeable future. However, their ease with money and unbridled behavior is increasingly hitting headlines domestically and around the world.

Controversy

Guo Meimei needs no introduction. Rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of one of China’s wealthy industrialists, she is notorious for flaunting her lifestyle and wealth online. She claimed to be a leader of the Red Cross in China which in turn backfired in 2011 angering and scandalising Chinese society. This year saw her hit the headlines once again when a Weibo catfight erupted between fellow fu’erdai Chen Junyu after she posted photos of herself with 5 million RMB worth of casino chips. These instances are not lone examples but part of an ever growing trend of unrestrained behavior as the fu’erdai grow into adults and the consequences of their unchecked actions become ever more significant and dangerous.

Back in 2010, two famous Beijing fu’erdai by the names of Wang Ke and Wang Shuo were in the spotlight again, not for the actresses they had bedded but for a string of high profile traffic incidents in the capital. One such incident is said to have led to a gun being brandished and an ensuing car chase. The blatant disregard for the people and society around them (be it online or on the streets) has been increasingly on show among the fu’erdai leading many in the country to turn their anger to the source of their seemingly unending wealth – their parents.

Knock on effect

Just like Guo Meimei and Chen Junyu, the product of families with wealth previous generations could have only dreamed of, most fu’erdai are not reigned in by their parents. Li Tianyi, son of the well-known military singer Li Shuangjiang, hit headlines first back in September 2011 for beating a young couple who reportedly blocked his car at the entrance of a residential community in Beijing. After being sentenced to reeducation, he then made headlines again in February this year for his involvement in a gang-rape. At only 17 years of age, his behaviour has shocked the largely traditonal and conservative nation, highlighting his high profile father and risking his position.

Ling Jihua is another parent, whose son’s actions led to him being removed from his high ranking government position back in 2012. His son, 23 year old Ling Gu, died when he lost control of his Ferrari 458 Spider in Beijing in the middle of the night on March 18 2012. At first kept secret due to his father’s extremely close relationship with then President Hu Jintao, the strange circumstances (two women –one naked, one partially naked were found in the wreckage) led many to believe that he was engaged in some sort of sex game. Anger grew across Chinese society (especially among the country’s middle classes) dealing a significant blow to the legitimacy of the government. The fu’erdai are increasingly threatening the safety of ordinary people and in many cases the very government holding China together.

Corruption

One of the reasons the fu’erdai often strike such a chord with the population is the fact that no one is exactly sure where their seemingly unending wealth comes from. Government officials earn a minimal salary but the increasing number of party officials driving supercars has again thrown light on corruption. The matter is so serious that it is one of the key drives behind Xi Jinping’s new government. Just how Ling Jihua was able to send his son to a top university and buy him a sports car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars when he officially earns in the region of $10,000 a year has angered the Chinese population. His removal from the Communist Party was said to be former President Hu’s attempt to fix the tainted view the government has gained in recent years. The fu’erdai are more than just rich children, they have the ability to seriously damage the government.

Unfortunately, the fu’erdai are not just a modern or Chinese phenomenon. Chinese is history is full of children of wealthy and powerful individuals abusing their positions, but in an increasingly online world, stories of less than savoury deeds are much harder to repress or hide altogether. Outside of China, the world is just as much abound with fu’erdai equivalents (George Bush and Paris Hilton for example), nepotism runs deep no matter where you are.

Time bomb?

As fears amount for the state of the world’s second largest economy, with growth in 2013 below what analysts had predicted, a continued lack of demand from Western markets affecting exports, attempts to increase domestic consumption falling short and the unknown amounts of debt acquired by local governments and businesses throughout the country, China’s government is getting worried. The last thing they need is social unrest caused by a reckless fu’erdai. At present, it seems any major controversies have been avoided, but if the boom years are now over for China how long can society tolerate the fu’erdai flaunting the money and power they might never have?

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Keywords: China’s fu’erdai generation fu’erdai

8 Comments

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seansarto

You have to be very stupid to have too much or too little money.

Sep 27, 2013 10:48 Report Abuse

Ivan_Koshevoy

...i can only say a lot of bad bad words in their adress. it's an illusion, they think they are cool..but are they at all?

Sep 06, 2013 17:37 Report Abuse

puffudder

A monkey in silk is a monkey no less.

Sep 06, 2013 07:52 Report Abuse

expatlife26

I think the problem is that china's society is just so stratified and class oriented, with such a huge gap between rich and poor. The thing about the US is that an average person can be fairly comfortable both in terms of lifestyle and really just being comfortable in their own skin. An american, of average national income, who has a even a modest house (with land!) and two, even used, cars simply just isn't as impressed/scared by wealthy people as a Chinese laborer is. In china, where your average person makes $200 per month and lives like total shit being wealthy is an unbelievably huge deal. The difference between a rich and average person isn't the difference between taking your family for a fun vacation renting a small cabin by the lake and taking your family for a glamorous trip to France (both being great times) or the difference between driving a toyota and driving a mercedes, it's the difference between having laws not apply to you and only getting to see your children for 2 weeks a year, the difference between living in modern urban splendor and living in filth and squalor. These people have absolutely no common ground with each other. Unless they have extremely strong parental guidance on values of hard work and humility these kids grow up seeing every day how exceptional they are simply because of wealth. A lot of it is because I think in their parent's cases they often didn't actually DO anything exceptional to earn the money, a lot of the current wealthy chinese just happened to get their farm land buyout in the early 90s, something completely out of their control, giving them cash to buy urban real estate back when land prices were still somewhat in line with local income; these are people more akin to lottery winners than savvy entrepreneurs/investors. Anyway, it creates this perfect storm of poor values, worship of the wealthy, and having money being the only criteria by which people are evaluated; of course they are going to show off and feel entitled. They genuinely are above the law in many cases so unless they have truly exceptional parents who can somehow impart to them some form of responsibility, society simply doesn't demand it of them.

Sep 05, 2013 12:04 Report Abuse

sharkies

Exactly.

Sep 05, 2013 15:36 Report Abuse

expatlife26

thanks chamaflauge I enjoy reading your insights as well, one of my favorite commenters on this site. My job is a lot of traveling so I have a lot of time to put together what I hope are insightful comments on my experiences here. take care my friend.

Sep 08, 2013 18:38 Report Abuse

Guest849094

Fu er dais are not the one ones that buy luxury goods. They are also the love of middle class who save money eating shao bing to buy maybe Gucci bags.its all about face and status!

Sep 05, 2013 08:18 Report Abuse

sharkies

Money doesn't buy class. Need I say more?

Sep 05, 2013 00:40 Report Abuse