How China’s billionaires are investing in their children’s futures – by packing them off to the best schools, colleges and universities in the world
Mario Ho Yau-kwan, son of the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho; Annabel Yao, daughter of Huawei’s CEO; and Wendy Yu, daughter of Mengtian’s founder, are among those who have been given an A+ start in life thanks to their super-rich parents
China’s production of new billionaires is happening as quickly and efficiently as its output of manufacturing. No real economic expertise is needed to see that a couple of decades ago there were fewer yuan available – and now, there’s lots more.
While Chinese billionaires have been able to accrue massive amounts of wealth domestically, one of their favourite hobbies is packing away their offspring to overseas landmarks of education. Their legacies may be defined by not only wealth creation but the actions and lives of their offspring.
In the last year, China has produced around four in every 10 new billionaires worldwide, according to the Hurun Report, which pores over wealth and ranks Chinese based on it. Looking at the top slots for those gaining enormous personal riches, China has recently added 182 new billionaires, which means a total of 799 according to the Hurun Report’s Global Rich List 2020. The US managed a measly 59 new billionaires, bringing the total to 626.
China holds academia, grades and pedagogical aplomb at achingly high levels; children’s weekends are packed with maths and English tutorials as well as music lessons. So you may be surprised to know that half of China’s billionaires have no further education degree, according to a report by the Hurun Research Institute.
Looking at the billionaires themselves, it’s actually domestic universities that have produced the most wealth-builders. Jack Ma (net worth US$38.8 billion) graduated from Hangzhou Normal University, while Ma Huateng (net worth US$38.1 billion) graduated from Shenzhen University. He later co-founded WeChat. Another tech giant, Robin Li Yanhong (net worth US$6.2 billion), chairman and CEO of Baidu Inc, has Peking University in Beijing has his alma mater, while Hui Ka-yan (net worth US$21.8 billion), who chairs Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Group, one of China’s largest real estate developers, is alumni of Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
As mentioned, it’s a choice for billionaires to send their heirs to overseas destinations. Where are some of the universities, colleges and boarding schools that ultra-wealthy offspring are learning to go it alone in rather exclusive fashion?
Annabel Yao, the 22-year-old Harvard computer science student and daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei (net worth US$1.1 billion), studies ballet in Harvard.
Sicong Wang, son of 65-year-old father Jianlin Wang (net worth US$14.1 billion), founder of China's largest real estate development company Dalian Wanda Group, was educated abroad – first in Singapore and then at the US$51,400-a-year Winchester College in the UK.
Not quite in the billionaire stratosphere, singer Faye Wong (net worth US$150 million) has a young daughter, 13-year-old Li Yan, attending the reputable College Alpin Beau Soleil in Switzerland, with school fees of up to about US$12,000 a month.