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Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images, file
China's Premier Wen Jiabao's mother, siblings and children have accumulated huge wealth since Wen was named vice premier in 1998, according to the New York Times.
The family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, a leader known for his humble roots and compassion for ordinary Chinese, has accumulated massive wealth during his time in power, the New York Times reported on Friday.
"A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates that the prime minister's relatives, some of whom have a knack for aggressive deal-making, including his wife, have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion," it said.
The Times' websites in English and Chinese were blocked in China on Friday morning, and searches for the New York Times as well as the names of Wen's children and wife were blocked on China's main Twitter-like microblog service.
More China coverage from our Behind the Wall blog
Wen's mother, siblings and children have amassed the majority of the wealth since Wen was named vice premier in 1998, the Times reported. Wen was promoted to the premiership in 2003.
Giving one example, the Times said partnerships controlled by Wen's relatives and their friends and colleagues held up to $2.2 billion in stock in Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd in 2007, the last year those stock holdings were disclosed in public documents.
Wen's 90-year-old mother had one investment in Ping An that was worth $120 million five years ago, the newspaper added.
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The Times said it presented its findings to the Chinese government for comment. The Foreign Ministry declined to respond. Members of Wen's family also declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment, the Times said.
The State Council - China's cabinet, of which Wen is nominally the head - did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
'Ulterior motives'
When asked about the Times story, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists Friday that "relevant press reports are steering China's image driven by ulterior motives."
China Daily via Reuters, file
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with workers following an earthquake in Sichuan province in this photo taken on January 25, 2009.
The private lives of Chinese leaders as well as their assets are kept under wraps, with personal details considered state secrets.
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Still, cases against lower-level officials, often exposed by Chinese media, and reports on senior officials by western and Hong Kong news organizations, underscore the extent to which those with power profit from their standing.
Occasionally, top officials are caught and prosecuted.
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Bo was expelled from China's parliament on Friday and is expected to stand trial in the near future.
The extended family of Xi Jinping, China's current vice president who is expected to be named head of China's Communist Party next month and president of the country in March, has also amassed great wealth, according to an earlier news report.
Xi's relatives have investments in companies with assets of $375 million, and an 18 percent indirect stake in a company with $1.7 billion in assets, Bloomberg news reported in June.
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Bloomberg's website has been blocked in China since that report was published, underscoring the sensitivity of the Party and government towards such revelations about top leaders.
In the case of Wen and his relatives, the names of family members "have been hidden behind layers of partnerships and investment vehicles involving friends, work colleagues and business partners," the New York Times said.
AFP - Getty Images
A click-through history of modern relations between the United States and China.
It said Wen's family's holdings include a villa development project in Beijing, a tire factory in northern China, a company involved in building some of the venues for Beijing's 2008 Olympics including the "Bird's Nest" main stadium, and Ping An Insurance, one of the world's largest financial services companies.
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Wen's younger brother has a company that was awarded more than $30 million in government contracts and subsidies for waste water treatment and medical waste disposal in some of China's biggest cities, and controls $200 million in assets in a number of companies, the Times said, basing its estimate on government records.
The Chinese public has a fondness for Wen, who is often referred to as "Grandpa Wen" in the media, for his common touch with ordinary Chinese, and his penchant for rushing to console victims of disasters, such as earthquakes and major accidents.
NBC News' Ed Flanagan and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Communism is no different than any other system when it comes to corruption. There is no way to protect yourself from your own leadership.
It is good to be king....er....communist leader.
He will probably do more with his wealth to help the local chinese people than that huge "a-hole" Donald Trump has done for anybody here in the USA !!
thats true! Look up a-hole in the dictionary and you'll find Trumps picture.
I guess the rules of communism only apply to some people.
"All animals are created equal but pigs are more equal."--Orwell
How true cookie ! In China the money belongs to the PEOPLE ...YA the premier`s family and friends .
And here I thought that Communisim is all about being poor.
If all money runs through the government , do you people really think any of these wondrful leaders (president , premier, chancellor, czar)or whatever they call themselves are going to pass the money on to you ? The good thing about capitalism is that you have a fighting chance of keep what you have made ! I can`t believe that some people think any government knows whats best for YOUR money ...
Can you even definre what Capitalism is?? Capitalism is a financial system. Communism is a political system!!
Why is it that in any country that begins with the prefix "The People's Republic Of...", that the leaders of those countries live far better, and grant themselves access to products and services that they deny the very people they claim to represent.
Funny how that works.
he amassed billions while his people stayed poor...and a comment here said it took him long to do it...read between the lines...his family is included in this MASS STEALING....very sad that his people they treated like crap
Reminds me of the socialist we have stealing the future of our children and great grandchildren. Just a matter of a few days before we get to see what he looks like in street clothes. Who knows, maybe there's a good consutling position for Barry down in Beijing. They are like minded folks he and Wen.
Let's take a look at Harry Reid's finances. A guy that has been in public service for his whole life on a government salary and somehow has millions of dollars in personal wealth. No impropriety there at all I'm sure....Must pay well to be a crooked bastard.
The U.S. has the finest politicians money can buy!
Up untill a couple years ago politicians would just put money in companies that were about to get giant government contracts , now that is SUPPOSED to be illegal ...
Our current administration has stolen trillions from US citizens that haven't even been born yet. So what if a chinese guy takes a little off the top. Obama thinks of him as a role model. Or maybe it's the other way around.
He may have a couple $billion, but he's not worth 2 cents.
As long as the government controls the value of their dollar, he's only worth as much as the state says he is.
All Obama has made "on paper" so far is $10,000,000.00....
That's only 9.95 million more than the average guy/gal who he can relate so well with........A real common man's man you think? What a hypcrite eh? "Mitt's rich. But I'm just an ordinary rock star."..................
There's no way China would turn capitalists. There's too much to gain from being the upper elite in a communist multi-dictatorship government. You have full control over all resources, why need to devalue that with a monetary system.
Truth is always the first casualty of politics! To me. Obama and his minions are the frontline of an attempt to tear America down to the point where all power will be vested in Neocommunist hands a la Chinese model. America would be very different under their system.
True ..but that's the nature of politics, Both sides have different methods they use to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. We the people just get the option to vote which method is used.
Old chinese saying
If you have tons of money and don't spend it, you might as well have rocks in pocket.
Warren: Another old Chinese proverb: It take many nails to build crib, but only one screw to fill it (insert gong sound here)
Gong!!!!!!!!!!!
So when are the Chinese going to finally admit that they're no longer communists, but dyed-in-the-wool capitalists, like the Americans they so love to hate? Oh, that's right, the 1.2 billion ordinary citizens still have to play by the communist rule book. It's just the 1%ers (sound familiar?) who can do as they please.
Interestingly, Wen Jiabao is one of the few senior Chinese leaders who are openly in favor of a transition to democracy for his country.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114917/Wen-Jiabao-Emotional-Chinese-premier-says-democracy-held-back.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14932483
Well, he's presenting himself as a man of the people per this article but all of his money is in family hands, even his 90 yr. old mother ! He's worth nearly $3 billion since 1998, living a capitalist life style (I doubt that glass of wine is Boone's Farm!!!) but I don't think he's about to buck the other Chinese leaders who like having control of the people. They'd have his head and his money.
No, he's not going to promote democracy - those people don't know the word since gov't controls every word, piece of news. If those billions of Chinese haven't overthrown Communism by now, it's never going to happen.
Wen is not going to give up his lifestyle or put his life on the line - that's reality. He may be a bleeding heart but his allegiance is to China and the communist party that allows him to rake in his dough. If he really had so much concern, why is much of what he said edited, why hasn't he taken his billions and fled the country and expose it for what it really is???
No, not gonna happen.....
Since socialism is a share-the-wealth kind of deal, this must mean that EVERYONE in China is a billionbaire. How do they do it!
Since the people are paid crap for the crap they produce, I'd have to say a penny at a time !!
It's no wonder they've blocked Bloomberg and now the New York Times. This information could destroy his reputation as a communist. He's just another greedy capitalist in commie clothing. Money turns all men into pigs. He thinks he can hide his fortune but just wait. Someone that isn't locked behind that Chinese curtain will read this story and talk, loudly! Wen should join his political proteges in prison for his corrupt politics like our American politicians that make a career out of stealing while in office.
es bueno estar revisando todo lo que pasa con los lideres del mundo asi nadie se da cuenta como nuestros lideres roban
acaso alguien esta revisando la fed y sus duenos como roban y nos tienen de esclavos
English, please ..... This is America !!!
forgot china chek wall street owners they tk all or savings trillions that is scam
I wonder how his wealth matches up against some of the wealthy here in America. Though I guess the big problem isn't his wealth but that he got it by using his government position. It's one thing to make your money with your own sweat. It's another to be left money by your family. But to take money from your countrymen through the government? *shakes head*
There's something not suggested here: are they wealthy because they are extorting stock and money from industry, or is it given to them in exchange for favors?
If it's the first: then it's no different from Marcos, our Filipino strongman who was deposed in 1986, and the other guys we on paper should be against around the world.
If it's the second, then clearly Chinese politicians are like any other politician the world over: for sale.
"From each according to his ability. To each according to his need." -Marx
Really?