Second generation rich

富二代 (fù èr dài): rich second generation

For the poor second generation, parents are more of a burden than an asset. For the rich second generation the opposite is true. (baike.sogou.com)

The larger figure labeled “rich person” holds his child aloft next to the much smaller “poor person.” Both figures sit on a bench labeled “social resources.” (baike.sogou.com)

Sons and daughters of China's newly rich. Before China's reform and opening, communism had substantially leveled the playing field, putting most people on more or less the same economic level. Since Deng Xiaoping's free market reforms, the gap between rich and poor is becoming ever more apparent. The children of those who prospered during the reform and opening up period are call the “rich second generation” and the children of those who did not prosper are called the “poor second generation.” Commentators complain that institutional barriers (for example, the high cost of education, or the value of connections) prevent the poor second generation from moving up.

The bad behavior displayed by some members of this privileged young cohort have caused much disdain in contemporary China.

See also governing second generation.