Why the nouveau riche in China stink

American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that the "rich are different from you and me They possess and enjoy early and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard and cynical where we are trusting". He was talking about wealthy Americans, especially the nouveau riche, of the 1920s, known in the history books as the "Roaring Twenties". But his words ring true for the rich, particularly their children, in today's China, too.

China's rapid economic growth, coupled with Deng Xiaoping's declaration, "To get rich is glorious", has spawned many millionaires and even billionaires. These people have now gained wide acceptance and are not afraid to flaunt their wealth.

Wang Zhongjun is one of them. The producer of hit films such as The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) reportedly drives a silver Mercedes and red Ferrari, owns a 22,000-square-foot mansion in northern Beijing with a $30-million art collection, and has a stable of 60 horses from Ireland and Kentucky.