Untangling the Wen family's web of riches

The mother of Premier Wen Jiabao was a schoolteacher in northern Tianjin. His father was ordered to tend pigs in one of Mao Zedong's political campaigns. And during childhood, "my family was extremely poor", Wen said in a speech last year.

But now 90, the premier's mother, Yang Zhiyun , not only left poverty behind - she became outright rich, at least on paper, according to corporate and regulatory records.

The details of how Yang, a widow, accumulated such wealth are not known. But it happened after her son was elevated to the ruling elite, first in 1998 as vice-premier and then five years later as premier.

Many of Wen's family, including his son, daughter, younger brother and brother-in-law, have become extraordinarily wealthy during his leadership, an investigation by shows. A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates the premier's relatives, some of whom have a knack for aggressive deal-making, including his wife, have controlled assets worth at least US$2.7 billion.

In many cases, the names of the relatives have been hidden behind layers of partnerships and investment vehicles involving friends, work colleagues and business partners. Unlike most new businesses in China, the family's ventures sometimes received financial backing from state-owned companies, including China Mobile. At other times, the ventures won support from some of Asia's richest tycoons - including Hong Kong's Cheng Yu-tung. Wen's relatives accumulated shares in banks, jewellers, tourist resorts, telecoms companies and infrastructure projects, sometimes by using offshore entities.