– Friends Don’t Let Friends Become Chinese Billionaires (Forbes, July 25 2011):
UPDATE: Chinese nationals aren’t the only ones getting in on the China action, writes Business Insider. Tons of foreigners have also come to China to make their fortunes, and many have succeeded. Meet 11 billionaire foreigners here (slide show).
I’m no statistics whiz, but it seems to me that a Chinese billionaire dies every 40 days.
China Daily reported Friday that unnatural deaths have taken the lives of 72 mainland billionaires over the past eight years. (Do the math.)
Which means that if you’re one of China’s 115 current billionaires, as listed on the 2011 Forbes Billionaires List, you should be more than a little nervous.
Mortality rate notwithstanding, what’s more disturbing is how these mega wealthy souls met their demise. According to China Daily, 15 were murdered, 17 committed suicide, seven died from accidents and 19 died from illness. Oh, yes, and 14 were executed. (Welcome to China.)
I don’t know about you but I find it somewhat improbable that among such a small population there could be so many “suicides,” “accidents” and “death by disease” (the average age of those who died from illness was only 48). I’m only speculating but the homicide toll could really be much higher.
Any way you look at it, of course, the life expectancy for the current crop of Chinese billionaires isn’t pretty.
NOTE: I would be remiss if I didn’t remind Chinese billionaires (you know who you are) that China carries out the death penalty more than the rest of the world combined, according to Amnesty International, so by being corrupt in any way, shape or form is simply tempting fate. Remember, the big corruption no-nos are (and you should know these by heart): graft, bribery, embezzlement, backdoor deals, nepotism, patronage, and statistical falsification; they all lead to lethal injection. Have a nice day.