Skip to main content

Report: As Chinese millionaires rise, happiness falls

By Priyanka Boghani, CNN
January 17, 2013 -- Updated 0445 GMT (1245 HKT)
China's richest feeling less happy, according to a new report.
China's richest feeling less happy, according to a new report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • New China "Millionaires Happiness Report" shows dissatisfaction with health, life
  • Hurun: "In general, the report shows that the richer you are, the less happy you are"

Hong Kong (CNN) -- It's not easy being rich. At least that's what new findings suggest from "The Millionaires Happiness Report" released by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.

"In general, the report shows that the richer you are, the less happy you are," the report authors said.

According to the inaugural report which surveyed 551 Mainland Chinese with a net worth of over 10 million yuan ($1.6 million), the average millionaire in China sleeps only 6.6 hours during the working week.

Chinese millionaires are dissatisfied with their health and are looking to prioritize spending more time with their family, the report said. The "self-made" female super-rich, who were 37 years old on average, are more likely to be unmarried with 35% of the respondents being either divorced or having remained single. The figure is almost twice that of the men surveyed.

The average age of all Chinese millionaires surveyed was 38 years old, rising to 40 among the "super-rich" -- those with net wealth of $16 million.

The lack of satisfaction for China's nouveau riche appears to be growing. Hurun Report, a magazine best known for its ranking of the wealthiest individuals in China, surveyed 1,000 super-rich Chinese in 2011 found that 55% of the respondents either in the process of leaving China or seriously considering it.

"What we are seeing is a sense of insecurity or, perhaps you want to look at it from another side, looking for a sense of insurance policy," said Rupert Hoogewerf, publisher of Hurun Report, told CNN in November. "So they are beginning to quite actively try and get a green card in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Singapore."

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
Check out CNN's latest news, commentary, photos, and videos on our China special section.
May 16, 2013 -- Updated 0225 GMT (1025 HKT)
This month, "On China" host Kristie Lu Stout speaks to guests about China's contemporary art scene.
May 16, 2013 -- Updated 0107 GMT (0907 HKT)
Who is the world's third biggest smartphone maker? BlackBerry? Guess again. HTC? Nope. It's China's Huawei.
May 8, 2013 -- Updated 1224 GMT (2024 HKT)
CNNGo heads to the capital of China's Sichuan province where numbing peppers rule.
May 9, 2013 -- Updated 0016 GMT (0816 HKT)
The poisoning of Zhu Ling, a college sophomore in Beijing almost two decades ago, has ignited an emotional debate in China.
May 7, 2013 -- Updated 2253 GMT (0653 HKT)
80-year-old Chinese war veteran Duan Keke fought for North Korea in the Korean War. He believes China will prevent war with North Korea.
May 3, 2013 -- Updated 0654 GMT (1454 HKT)
"Iron Man 3" has set a new box office record in China, taking 130 million yuan ($21 million) on its opening day.
May 1, 2013 -- Updated 0259 GMT (1059 HKT)
The Communist party has become an exclusive club for China's elite, and some say its youngest members are motivated by nothing more than naked careerism.
April 26, 2013 -- Updated 1114 GMT (1914 HKT)
The H7N9 strain responsible for the bird flu outbreak in China is unlike any that has previously been seen in this type of virus.
Share with us your photos and videos of life in China-- the everyday China. The best content could be featured online or on air.
ADVERTISEMENT