For decades, a powerful idea circulated throughout China: to get rich was glorious. This ethos emerged during the late 1970s under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, who shifted China away from the strict, collectivist ideology of Mao Zedong. Deng opened China to capitalism, and for many, wealth was no longer viewed as a threat to equality but as a symbol of progress. However, under the current administration of Xi Jinping, this promise has been sharply reversed. Today, in China, getting rich isn’t just a risky pursuit—it has become a target on your back, a reality that discourages the ambitions of many potential entrepreneurs and innovators.

The Changing Winds: From Glorious to Dangerous

When Deng Xiaoping declared, “to get rich is glorious,” it symbolized China’s first major leap away from a purely communist system towards one that embraced economic opportunity. Deng justified this change by famously saying, “First you let some make money, then more will follow.” Under his leadership, wealth creation became a national priority, albeit with one underlying condition: getting rich should benefit China as a whole, and not simply create personal empires.

The success stories of the 1980s and beyond reflected this ethos. Entrepreneurs like Nian Guangjiu, the founder of Fool’s Melon Seeds, went from poverty to prosperity in a few short years, embodying the new spirit of wealth creation. But Nian’s story also held a warning. Accused of crimes like embezzlement in 1989, he was imprisoned and stripped of his company, showing that even in Deng’s China, individual wealth had its limits. To get rich was glorious, but to step too far beyond the government’s expectations was dangerous.

In recent years, the risks associated with wealth have only intensified under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Xi’s era has seen the transformation of “common prosperity” from a vague slogan into a broad-reaching policy aimed at reining in excess wealth. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has pushed an agenda to serve the people and narrow the gap between rich and poor, explicitly warning against the dangers of unchecked wealth and inequality.

The Crackdown Begins: Tech Titans in the Crosshairs

One of the clearest signs of this changing dynamic occurred in 2020, during what many have come to view as the “fall of Jack Ma.” As the founder of Alibaba, Ma was once the face of China’s economic success, even becoming the country’s richest person at one point. However, after criticizing the Chinese government’s regulatory approach and referring to Chinese banks as suffering from “pawnshop thinking,” Ma quickly found himself in trouble.

“State retaliation was swift,” noted one observer, as Alibaba’s share price plunged, and Ma himself disappeared from the public eye for a significant period. The message was clear: wealth and influence must always align with the Communist Party’s values, and stepping out of line will be met with force. It wasn’t just about Jack Ma personally—it was a warning shot to other billionaires as well.

This sentiment was echoed by Wall Street brokers, with one noting, “Nobody wants to be the richest man in China at a time when its government is turning more assertively socialist.” Indeed, this fear has led to some bizarre scenarios. In 2023, Colin Huang, founder of Pinduoduo (PDD), briefly became China’s richest man, only for PDD to soon issue a downbeat profit forecast. Its stock plummeted, and Huang’s fortune declined by $14 billion overnight. Not long after, Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring found himself in a similar position, slipping from the top spot just as quickly as he had reached it.

On Chinese social media, people speculated whether these profit warnings were a deliberate strategy by corporate leaders to avoid standing out. Being the richest in China has become a risk—one that few are willing to take on. The sentiment was aptly captured by another broker who concluded, “It’s not implausible to think that no one wants to be China’s wealthiest anymore.”

The Private Sector in Retreat

The clampdown on excessive wealth, led by Xi’s “common prosperity” campaign, has profoundly impacted China’s private sector. This approach has struck particularly hard at tech companies, which once represented China’s modern economic miracle. These companies were allowed to grow, amass capital, and push China’s influence globally—until their reach began to threaten the Party’s control.

China’s private sector has been in retreat ever since. In 2021, the value of the stock market began sliding, while state-owned enterprises gained ground, increasing their share of the market capitalization by more than a third to nearly 50%. This shift in market dynamics is highly unusual; China now has the only major stock market in which state companies are valued as highly as their private counterparts. In a country that once celebrated entrepreneurial spirit, the super-rich are now lying low. As the writer Ruchir Sharma pointed out, “Become the richest tycoon in the US, and you might launch your own space programme. In China, you might look for a way to lose your new title—and the target on your back.”

The pressure from this crackdown is also discouraging the next generation of potential tycoons. With private businesses under such heavy scrutiny and high-profile entrepreneurs like Jack Ma falling out of favor, venture capital investment has dried up. Young people are becoming wary of pursuing careers in finance or tech entrepreneurship, seeing them as risky endeavors that could put them in the government’s crosshairs. Instead of aspiring to amass wealth and build global companies, many of China’s young talents are opting for safer career paths that align more clearly with government priorities.

The Rise of “Runology”: China’s Wealth Exodus

With such an atmosphere of fear and restriction, an increasing number of China’s wealthy elite are choosing to leave the country altogether. The phenomenon has given rise to a term: “runxue” or “run-ology,” a play on the English word “run” and the Chinese character “run,” which means profitable. “Runology” is the study of how to escape China and take one’s wealth with them—a daunting task that involves navigating strict capital controls and other obstacles.

Record numbers of wealthy Chinese have been seeking to emigrate over the last few years. In 2023 alone, 13,800 millionaires left China, and in 2024, that number was expected to reach 15,200. Popular destinations include Singapore, the United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, where “golden visa” programs offer a fast track to residency for high-net-worth investors. Singapore, in particular, has become a haven for many of China’s business elites, providing a safe environment for those wishing to protect their wealth from the reach of the Chinese government.

However, getting money out of China has proven to be extremely difficult. The government has strict capital controls, limiting citizens to transferring only $50,000 per year in foreign currency—a mere fraction of what is required to establish a life abroad. As a result, many wealthy individuals turn to underground banking systems to circumvent these regulations. This has led to shadowy money-laundering practices, including “mirror transfers,” which involve transferring money through reciprocal underground banks in China and abroad.

Even after overcoming the logistical challenges of moving their money, Chinese expatriates often face social and cultural difficulties. For many, adapting to a new life abroad is a daunting challenge that brings isolation. “If you are a social butterfly who cannot live without social activities,” said one Chinese influencer, “then northern Europe will definitely not suit you.” Despite these challenges, the trend continues, driven by a growing sense of unease about staying in China.

The Future of Wealth in China

For the next generation in China, the dream of becoming rich is no longer a glorious pursuit—it’s an increasingly dangerous one, overshadowed by the ever-present fear of government retribution. The high-profile rises and dramatic downfalls of China’s wealthiest serve as a chilling reminder that no level of success provides security in a system where power is concentrated entirely in the hands of the state. Even the wealthiest individuals must tread carefully, knowing that any misstep, any deviation from the Party’s vision, could mean losing everything.

In today’s China, wealth has become a gilded cage. It might buy luxury and comfort, but it offers no freedom. The richest men in China live in constant fear—fear of government crackdowns, fear of sudden investigations, fear that their empires could crumble overnight if they fall out of favor with the Party. Success is allowed, but only under conditions dictated by the state. Wealth must serve the government’s agenda, and even then, there is no guarantee of safety. The sense of vulnerability that comes from knowing one’s fate rests entirely on staying in the good graces of an authoritarian regime erodes any joy or pride that might come from financial success.

Ultimately, no amount of money can shield someone from the oppression of a system designed to keep everyone—no matter how rich—in check. A billionaire in an oppressed society is still oppressed, shackled by the fear that the same system that allowed their rise could swiftly orchestrate their fall. For many, the conclusion has become inevitable: it is better to live somewhere that allows the freedom to succeed without fear, where one’s prosperity is not an invitation for punishment but a testament to individual talent and effort. In China, the allure of prosperity has turned into a dark reminder that in a society ruled by fear, even those at the top are never truly free.

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