I read Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan over the weekend. It's satirical fiction about a richer than rich family in Singapore and Hong Kong - what's funniest about the story is not how ridiculous the characters are (or rather, how ridiculously they view and spend money), but rather how true it is to life. Living in Hong Kong where making anything less than $2M per year puts you in the middle class and you're not in the true upper class unless you are related to Stanley Ho or Li Ka Shing, the extravagant lifestyle described in the book just seemed like a true play-by-play of the uber-rich in Asia.
When I lived in NorCal, Priuses were the car de jour and even the billionaires (or perhaps, especially the billionaires) wore t-shirts and jeans. Silicon Valley mints a new batch of millionaires every year, but flaunting money in NorCal is a big no-no. In Hong Kong, it is a way of life. You get so used to seeing Bentleys, Maseratis, Maybachs and Lamborghinis that you barely turn your head when they pass by. There are diamond and luxury watch stores everywhere, and whatever you thought was an expensive ring or watch in the US - multiply that by 10, and you'll get the starting price of an average diamond or watch among the rich in Hong Kong. This is a place where a 500 sq ft one-BR apartment in the central area will cost at least a million, and where a rent less than $6000-7000 per month is considered affordable among the middle class, upper-middle class and upper class.
Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, I was schooled in the class system in Hong Kong. Unlike most countries where there are essentially three classes (lower, middle and upper), there are 5 distinct classes in Hong Kong:
Service class - the helpers (housekeepers are called helpers in HK), nannies, drivers, waiters, bartenders. Mostly of Filipino, Indonesian and Nepalese descent. They make less than $1000/month working 6 days a week. Most of these people live in "maid's rooms" that are smaller than your average broom closet.
Lower class - the local Cantonese in basic office jobs such as secretaries, salarymen, etc. Usually make between $1-5K per month. Most of these people live on the Kowloon side in areas you can't pronounce and haven't heard of if you're an ignorant expat (like myself).
Middle class - the professional class, made up of both local and expat workers in corporate, law, finance. If you make anywhere between $70K - $2 million per year, you're middle class. Most of these people live in apartments in or around Mid-levels, but some with families move out to Pok Fu Lam, Kowloon Station, Discovery Bay, Sai Kung.
Upper middle class - the bankers, traders, law firm partners, and C-suite executives who make anything above $2 million a year. Most of these people live in apartments in Stanley, Repulse Bay or the Peak in flats that cost a minimum of $15K per month.
Upper class - made up of the richest and most powerful families in Hong Kong who basically own all of the land, buildings and businesses in Hong Kong & Macau and are all in the billionaire club (which may or may not be reported on Forbes since much of their wealth is off the books). These people live in actual houses on the Peak.
The thing about Hong Kong is that it's such a small place that you will rub elbows with all of the above on a daily basis. Your sense of "normal" becomes skewed. Things either seem really cheap or too expensive and out of reach. Asia is a bubble, but Hong Kong is a bubble within the bubble.
When I lived in NorCal, Priuses were the car de jour and even the billionaires (or perhaps, especially the billionaires) wore t-shirts and jeans. Silicon Valley mints a new batch of millionaires every year, but flaunting money in NorCal is a big no-no. In Hong Kong, it is a way of life. You get so used to seeing Bentleys, Maseratis, Maybachs and Lamborghinis that you barely turn your head when they pass by. There are diamond and luxury watch stores everywhere, and whatever you thought was an expensive ring or watch in the US - multiply that by 10, and you'll get the starting price of an average diamond or watch among the rich in Hong Kong. This is a place where a 500 sq ft one-BR apartment in the central area will cost at least a million, and where a rent less than $6000-7000 per month is considered affordable among the middle class, upper-middle class and upper class.
Not long after arriving in Hong Kong, I was schooled in the class system in Hong Kong. Unlike most countries where there are essentially three classes (lower, middle and upper), there are 5 distinct classes in Hong Kong:
Service class - the helpers (housekeepers are called helpers in HK), nannies, drivers, waiters, bartenders. Mostly of Filipino, Indonesian and Nepalese descent. They make less than $1000/month working 6 days a week. Most of these people live in "maid's rooms" that are smaller than your average broom closet.
Lower class - the local Cantonese in basic office jobs such as secretaries, salarymen, etc. Usually make between $1-5K per month. Most of these people live on the Kowloon side in areas you can't pronounce and haven't heard of if you're an ignorant expat (like myself).
Middle class - the professional class, made up of both local and expat workers in corporate, law, finance. If you make anywhere between $70K - $2 million per year, you're middle class. Most of these people live in apartments in or around Mid-levels, but some with families move out to Pok Fu Lam, Kowloon Station, Discovery Bay, Sai Kung.
Upper middle class - the bankers, traders, law firm partners, and C-suite executives who make anything above $2 million a year. Most of these people live in apartments in Stanley, Repulse Bay or the Peak in flats that cost a minimum of $15K per month.
Upper class - made up of the richest and most powerful families in Hong Kong who basically own all of the land, buildings and businesses in Hong Kong & Macau and are all in the billionaire club (which may or may not be reported on Forbes since much of their wealth is off the books). These people live in actual houses on the Peak.
The thing about Hong Kong is that it's such a small place that you will rub elbows with all of the above on a daily basis. Your sense of "normal" becomes skewed. Things either seem really cheap or too expensive and out of reach. Asia is a bubble, but Hong Kong is a bubble within the bubble.
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