The number of households earning ¥250,000 annually amounted to1.6 million in 2008 and is expected to grow 16% a year and hit 4 million by 2015, becoming the fourth wealthiest nation after the US, Japan and the UK, a McKinsey report has revealed. 30% of the rich people lived in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the top 10 cities represented half of all the rich households, the consultancy said after sampling 1,750 rich households across 16 mainland cities. An interesting finding is the average age of China's wealthy population is 20 years younger than those in the US and Japan and 80% of the 1.6 million were under 45. The percentage was 30% in the US and 19% in Japan. 21% of the rich consumers said credit lending improved their lifestyles while only 9% of the mainstream consumers shared the point. The rich spent 31%, 17%, and 10% of their incomes on fashion ware, dining out, and entertainment while the makeup for the vast public was 11%, 7%, and 3% respectively, the report discovered. 53% of the well-off group, however, acknowledged they had a hard time balancing work and private life. 17% of ordinary people felt similarly.

$1 = ¥6.8

Source: http://www.cs.com.cn/xwzx/03/200904/t20090407_1812052.htm