‘Common Prosperity’ Fades as China’s Billionaires and Unemployed Poor Proliferate Simultaneously

Economic data show that China leads the pace in the number of global billionaires; meanwhile, non-job and non-earning populations are increasing.

A Ferrari and a cyclist share the road in Beijing on Feb. 25, 2011, illustrating the yawning wealth gap between China's rich and poor. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

China is running counter to the goal of “common prosperity” proposed by its communist rulers, as it becomes further polarized between rich and poor, with a rise both in the number of billionaires and in the unemployed or non-earning populations.