Bienvenue, China's Billionaires

"These are clients who realize the chances of getting caught have increased dramatically -- to not a will but a when question."

"That group has now for the first time really contemplated 'I'm going to have to leave some day. There is definitely a wildfire'."

"We've been very busy since the beginning of the year."

"You want to prevent the problem [coming to Chinese authorities' attention as a potential threat to the governing body] and avoid the wildfire, as opposed to trying to put it out after your house is on fire."

"The thing to remember is that Canada is in competition for these Golden Geese and must present an opportunity which is competitive with all the other countries which are also trying to get this group [of mega-wealthy Chinese escaping crackdowns on 'ultra-high net-worth' individuals]."

David Lesperance, Immigration and Taxation lawyer, Poland

Helicopters carry Chinese flags over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, July 1, 2022. There is a growing trend among China’s wealthy to move at least their money, if not themselves, out of the country. Photo by Paul Yeung/Reuters/File

In China of late, a growing urgency has arisen among high-net-worth Chinese, considering it is time to leave Hong Kong or mainland China before government attention lingers too long on their fortunes and their perceived activities. Business people based in the Peoples Republic of China have reason for concern with President Xi Jinping concentrating his power, eliminating opponents while tightening his grip on Hong Kong. One never knows when something quite innocent of intent to Beijing or give it reason to feel that being a billionaire has made one a competitive threat may draw attention.

 

How many of these five Chinese billionaires – who all pulled their money out of China – do you recognize? Photo: Weibo/WeChat/Reuters/Getty

 

The result of which is that a shared nervous tension among China's ultra-wealthy is driving them to seriously consider leaving China, with assets intact, for greener, more relaxed and welcome shores. Destinations of high popularity among this restless group include Australia, New Zealand, and a little geographically further afield, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Canada. Mr. Lesperance is a Canadian who has relocated to be closer to his growing client base, at a kind of cross-roads clearing-house.

He is increasingly being sought out by wealthy business people out of China and Hong Kong urgently intent on leaving the region. Those reaching out need professional assistance and Mr. Lesperance has the experience to help expedite their intentions. He has seen requests tripling in the last few years in lock step with Xi Jinping eliminating perceived threats to his longevity as undisputed ruler of China's 1.4 billion population.

 

Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma. (Photo by Wang HE/Getty Images)

China has not yet seen a mass exodus of its richest.That demographic represents 626 billionaires, a number of the world's wealthy second only to the 724 such Croesus's in the United States. There has been a trend of late among these wealthy Chinese to move their assets to Singapore through the city state's "family office" system. This is a situation not entirely fixed to China. In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set to rise to the throne, is giving concern to the ultra-wealthy there, too.

Since coming to power in 2012, President X has brought quite dramatic changes to China, leaving its business tycoons nervously trying to read tea leaves into the future. The extradition treaty proposal of 2019 to remove people from Hong Kong to the mainland to stand trial on espionage and other like charges created a reverberating watchfulness. The National Security Law has empowered authorities to imprison dissidents; among them media mogul Jimmy Lau, in the curbing of democracy.

High-tech sector Jack Ma, billionaire head of the Alibaba technology conglomerate's disappearance in 2020 after publicly criticizing Chinese regulators saw the IPO for his Ant Group suddenly axed. Mysterious disappearances of other wealth moguls amidst President Xi's announcement of a "common prosperity" program to see a more equitable spread of wealth across the entire Chinese population, placed the rich under anxious pressure. Some believe the underlying purpose of such campaigns is focused on eliminating rivals to Mr. Xi's power and control, and that of his Party.

Chen Mailin (left) made his fortune in duck farming before moving to Canada. Photo: Weibo