Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
A rare soul gives up super wealth for simplicity
Print Edition
A BRITISH man is divorcing his wealthy Chinese wife because he said he never enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.
According to UK media reports, Tony Hawken is going to end 21 years of marriage to Dai Xiuli, one of Britain’s richest women and owner of the China Super League Club, Guizhou Renhe.
“I’m sick of being rich,” The Times newspaper quoted the former math teacher as saying. The London newspaper described the 57-year-old husband as always a reluctant billionaire and a man of modest tastes.
Dai is worth US$1.2billion, according to Forbes. Hawken will probably walk away with 1 million pounds (US$1.66 million), the newspaper said. Dai has not commented.
However, we are able to draw a picture of Hawken, a man who would walk away from super wealth and return to simplicity. His attitude toward money and extravagance ought to make some of us ashamed of ourselves.
When some Chinese join the nouveau riche, they quickly equip themselves with luxury vehicles, golf club memberships, and penthouses with panoramic views. Some urban residents and farmers who acquired millions of yuan in compensation after relocation immediately quit their jobs and stayed at home playing mahjong.
Chinese tradition has never encouraged extravagance or idleness, but nowadays many people embrace both, if they have enough money to get by. Numerous surveys suggest that more than 70 percent of Chinese interviewed measure success mainly in terms of money.
There’s an old Chinese saying: A man of honor makes money in a righteous way.
Furthermore, people of honor spend money in a responsible way, but on the contrary, we Chinese people — once renowned for thrift — are now the biggest spenders in the world.
Dozens of top-tier brands derive a major part of their revenue from the Chinese market and many have expanded their business to China. At high-end shopping malls overseas, it’s common to see Chinese carrying many parcels.
Are we so rich that we can afford this kind of life? The average income of urban residents was less than 30,000 yuan (US$4,835) last year. Japanese citizens earned an average of US$41,850, while South Koreans pocketed nearly US$20,000 during the same period, according to the World Bank.
The late Deng Xiaoping said some regions and some people may prosper before others do, and then they can gradually help other regions and people to do the same.
Hawken may be one of those who fulfill Deng’s hopes, since he gives free tutoring to underprivileged children. He told a British newspaper: “I have got a settlement which is not great, but it’s enough for me.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
