The annual Hurun Report has helped publicize the estimated value of China’s wealthiest residents for the past 10 years. But, as successive reports have shown,the rankings are by no means an indicator of the future.
By Xie Ying
Mention the name Rupert Hoogewerf in China and it’s likely to be met with a blank expression. But say the word “Hurun,” and it’s an all together different story. For the last ten years, Hurun, or as he’s known in his native England, Rupert Hoogewerf, has been responsible for compiling China’s annual rich list – the Hurun Report.
An undeniably compelling look into the often mysterious world of China’s wealthiest residents, the annual report has become a yearly rite of passage for China’s domestic media, who have been quick to turn the report into an opportunity to profile the list’s highest-ranked earners.
This year, aside from the release of the top 1,000 rich list, Hurun in August released “China’s Richest, Special Report,” which tracks the changes and trends that have occurred on the list in the decade since it was first published in 1999.
Huang Guanyu, the richest person in Hurun’s 2008, 2005 and 2004 rankings, was arrested last November over alleged manipulation of stock prices. Despite his arrest, however, Huang was still ranked 17th on this year’s list, based largely on his 34 percent share in listed electronics retailer Gome Electrical Appliance, and his Beijing property assets. As close observers of the Hurun list will note, Huang’s case is by no means isolated. A total of 49 people to have appeared on the list over the last 10 years have been met with similar fates, including 17 convicted of crimes, and two still awaiting judgment. NewsChina met with Hurun recently in his Shanghai office to learn his thoughts about the wealthy in China.
NewsChina: What was the initiative behind publishing August’s Special Report?
Hurun: There isn’t a particularly strong news element to the report. I simply categorized examples of people who have appeared on the list but whose wealth has since been significantly reduced. These people basically fall into one of two categories: those who have taken money illegally from shareholders or those who have stolen from State assets. Of course, there was a great degree of variation between cases, especially in regard to the processes involved.
NewsChina: What lessons do you think people can learn from these examples?
Hurun: These failures only represent a small proportion of the total 1,330 people that have appeared on the list between 1999 and 2008. As far as I know, 98.6 percent of the listed entrepreneurs continue to be in good shape. I think this demonstrates the need for an increase in support for the development of the private economy.
NewsChina: Do Western countries also encounter similar problems to those outlined in the Special Report?
Hurun: Generally, there are fewer similar cases in Western countries, but they do exist. China is a rapidly developing country, and therefore its wealth is more fluid. Bill Gates has been ranked the richest man in the US for many years, but in China, the list changes frequently.
NewsChina: What do you think of the media reaction towards the Special Report?
Hurun: The foreign media has been quite interested in the report, as the report is a relatively new means for them to examine the goings-on in China. Of course, while local Chinese media have already carried detailed reports of almost every case outlined in the special report, the foreign media might have not been able to, so when an integrated comprehensive report such as this is produced, it draws a lot of interest from them.
NewsChina: Which issue in particular do you think has aroused the interest of the foreign media?
Hurun: The foreign media have been quick to probe why there are so many property developers in China that have become rich at the same time, while in the United States and Britain, no such phenomena has ever occurred, even during early periods of industrialization.
NewsChina: Did you anticipate the list to provoke such a variety of opinions, especially in regard to the differences in how its findings have been interpreted between the domestic and international media?
Hurun: Yes. From the very beginning – we didn’t publish the China rich list in Chinese until 2002 due to such concerns. I used to have doubts over whether the Chinese media would be willing to accept the findings of the list.
NewsChina: A total of 1,330 Chinese people have been included on your list during the course of the last 10 years. How many of them have you met in person?
Hurun: I cannot give you an accurate figure, but there are at least two to three hundred or so that I have had face-to-face conversations with.
NewsChina: As a Westerner observing the Chinese private sector, what kind of advantages and disadvantages do you face?
