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> it is safe to build wealth in the US It's safe to build OBSCENE wealth in the states. It's safe to build wealth in PRC, plenty of 10-100 millionaires. It's

> it is safe to build wealth in the US It's safe to build OBSCENE wealth in the states. It's safe to build wealth in PRC, plenty of 10-100 millionaires. It's also safe to build OBSCENE wealth in PRC, but it comes with more political caveats. Like not trying circumvent regulators by launching irresponsible fintech. Which system is better depends on how much you value checking billionaires.

gscott 3y ago
Building wealth in China you have to keep it there due to tight capital controls. In the USA you can transfer it out of the country if you want to. https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3212414/i-cant-get-my-money-out-billionaire-investor-mark-mobius-says-china-restricting-flows-capital-out https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3212414... https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-rich-are-using-total-strangers-to-sneak-cash-out-of-the-country-20231107-p5ei2h.html https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-rich-are... https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-banks-waits-07212023123106.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-banks-waits-072... https://harris-sliwoski.com/chinalawblog/getting-money-out-of-china-the-long-version/ https://harris-sliwoski.com/chinalawblog/getting-money-out-o... https://www.afr.com/world/asia/smurfing-strangers-how-china-s-rich-smuggle-cash-from-the-country-20231106-p5ei1o https://www.afr.com/world/asia/smurfing-strangers-how-china-... https://agbrief.com/news/china/24/01/2024/china-tightens-controls-on-capital-outflows-amid-market-rout/ https://agbrief.com/news/china/24/01/2024/china-tightens-con... https://www.uschina.org/china%E2%80%99s-capital-controls-choke-cross-border-payments https://www.uschina.org/china%E2%80%99s-capital-controls-cho... https://www.ft.com/chinese-capital-controls https://www.ft.com/chinese-capital-controls
- maxglute 3y ago
  And? They can financial engineer a few 100 million out of country and have generational wealth stashed abroad or be a boring billinoaire in PRC. Flashing extravagant lavishness is frowned upon, maybe settle for a 300 ft yacht instead of a 600ft mega yacht like a RU oligarch or Arab crown prince. They're billionaires they can get pretty much what they want, not upper-middle class family from tier1 city trying to figure out how to wire >50kUSD to pay their kids rent and tuition.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Chinese transferring wealth out of China to buy American and Canadian real estate is actually a popular way of protecting themselves and laundering money from non-legit enterprises in the mainland.
WrongAssumption 3y ago
There are over 100 billionaires in the Chinese parliament, the US congress has zero billionaires.
- janalsncm 3y ago
  Just like it’s better to have a friend who has a boat than to own a boat, it’s better to buy a politician than to be one.
  - Retric 3y ago
    Depends on the level of corruption. At low levels people buy politicians, at high levels politicians shake down the wealthy.
- maxglute 3y ago
  They're rubber stamp deputies who are selected/invited to NPC because they're important entrepreneurs, which correlates to being billionaires. But they don't influence shit, they know their place, enough to waste a week or two a year at two sessions. Which is precisely the original point - it's safe to build obscene wealth in PRC... close to 1,000 billionaires know how to not be politically retarded vs the minority that don't. Last available IIRC stat was ~15% of billionaires in PRC end up in jail (corruption/CCDI). I don't know that number for US is, but probably too low.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  easier to just bribe them then have to show up and do congressional shit. "why buy the cow for the milk?" etc. etc.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Someone in US congress can earn millions from their offices. But that is amateur money compared to the vast swaths of the Chinese economy controlled by China's red families. Even Wen Jiabao's mom was in on it with a massive jewelry empire (heck, I remember being surprised she was still alive in the 2010s), and the Chinese government only gave credibility to the story that outed this by blocking the NyTimes over it.

gscott 3y ago

Building wealth in China you have to keep it there due to tight capital controls. In the USA you can transfer it out of the country if you want to. https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3212414/i-cant-get-my-money-out-billionaire-investor-mark-mobius-says-china-restricting-flows-capital-out https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3212414... https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-rich-are-using-total-strangers-to-sneak-cash-out-of-the-country-20231107-p5ei2h.html https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/china-s-rich-are... https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-banks-waits-07212023123106.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-banks-waits-072... https://harris-sliwoski.com/chinalawblog/getting-money-out-of-china-the-long-version/ https://harris-sliwoski.com/chinalawblog/getting-money-out-o... https://www.afr.com/world/asia/smurfing-strangers-how-china-s-rich-smuggle-cash-from-the-country-20231106-p5ei1o https://www.afr.com/world/asia/smurfing-strangers-how-china-... https://agbrief.com/news/china/24/01/2024/china-tightens-controls-on-capital-outflows-amid-market-rout/ https://agbrief.com/news/china/24/01/2024/china-tightens-con... https://www.uschina.org/china%E2%80%99s-capital-controls-choke-cross-border-payments https://www.uschina.org/china%E2%80%99s-capital-controls-cho... https://www.ft.com/chinese-capital-controls https://www.ft.com/chinese-capital-controls

maxglute 3y ago
And? They can financial engineer a few 100 million out of country and have generational wealth stashed abroad or be a boring billinoaire in PRC. Flashing extravagant lavishness is frowned upon, maybe settle for a 300 ft yacht instead of a 600ft mega yacht like a RU oligarch or Arab crown prince. They're billionaires they can get pretty much what they want, not upper-middle class family from tier1 city trying to figure out how to wire >50kUSD to pay their kids rent and tuition.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
Chinese transferring wealth out of China to buy American and Canadian real estate is actually a popular way of protecting themselves and laundering money from non-legit enterprises in the mainland.

WrongAssumption 3y ago

There are over 100 billionaires in the Chinese parliament, the US congress has zero billionaires.

janalsncm 3y ago
Just like it’s better to have a friend who has a boat than to own a boat, it’s better to buy a politician than to be one.
- Retric 3y ago
  Depends on the level of corruption. At low levels people buy politicians, at high levels politicians shake down the wealthy.
maxglute 3y ago
They're rubber stamp deputies who are selected/invited to NPC because they're important entrepreneurs, which correlates to being billionaires. But they don't influence shit, they know their place, enough to waste a week or two a year at two sessions. Which is precisely the original point - it's safe to build obscene wealth in PRC... close to 1,000 billionaires know how to not be politically retarded vs the minority that don't. Last available IIRC stat was ~15% of billionaires in PRC end up in jail (corruption/CCDI). I don't know that number for US is, but probably too low.
red-iron-pine 3y ago
easier to just bribe them then have to show up and do congressional shit. "why buy the cow for the milk?" etc. etc.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
Someone in US congress can earn millions from their offices. But that is amateur money compared to the vast swaths of the Chinese economy controlled by China's red families. Even Wen Jiabao's mom was in on it with a massive jewelry empire (heck, I remember being surprised she was still alive in the 2010s), and the Chinese government only gave credibility to the story that outed this by blocking the NyTimes over it.