Profile of the super rich in China: A social space analysis

Various "rich lists" indicate that China now has one of the highest percentages of super rich people worldwide. However, very little is known about their sociopolitical profiles. Based on the annual Hurun China Rich Lists from 2000 to 2018, we created a new dataset of China's super rich that combines information from various sources. Using a multiple correspondent analysis, we reveal that the social spaces of China's super rich are derived from their political, cultural, and social capital. The Chinese super rich are mainly distinguished by their cultural and political capital, while their social capital is not fully independent from political capital. We also identify a division among the super-rich who first appeared on the rich list during different periods. These divisions can inform the understanding of the emergence of the super-rich in an economy that has only recently embraced capitalism and can help predict their evolution in an increasingly glocalized system.