Beijing: The numbers of millionaires may
be rising steeply in China, but their life span appears to be
shorter than average Chinese as studies showed 72 of them died
young in the last eight years.
The Chinese multimillionaires, whose personal assets
exceeded 100 million yuan (USD 15.51 million), have died of
unnatural causes or passed away at a young age since 2003,
according to a report.
Fifteen were murdered for their wealth, 17 committed
suicides, seven died in accidents, 14 were executed and 19
others died at an early age due to illness, New Culture View
newspaper reported yesterday.
The average age of those who died from illness was
only 48, with cardiovascular ailments and cancer the biggest
killers.
Wang Junyao, chairman of Junyao Group, died of cancer
at the age of 38 in November 2004. Long-time anxiety, high
pressure and excessive social activities all contributed to
their sickness, the report said.
"Chinese people live on average more than 70 years.
The millionaires obviously died earlier than average," said
Ding Chunsheng, director of the health education centre in
Changchun, capital city of Jilin Province.
Most of the suicides in this group were attributed to
business failures.
Fifteen millionaires were murdered for their wealth by
either a friend, partner or competitor. Fourteen millionaires,
who accumulated their fortunes via illegal means, were
executed.
According to the Hurun Rich List, 55,000 people on the
Chinese mainland had assets of more than 100 million yuan in
2009. China already has the second highest number of
billionaires.
According to Frobes magazine, China has about 64
billionaires against United States 117.
According to Boston Consulting Group China has 6.7
lakh people with over million dollar income ranking third
after US and Japan.
PTI
