The Wen Jiabao Family Accumulates Wealth of $2.7 Billion

The family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, a leader known for his humble origins and compassion for ordinary Chinese citizens, has amassed a vast fortune of at least $2.7 billion since he came to power, according to a New York Times investigation that could harm the ruling Communist Party.

‘A review of corporate and regulatory data shows that the premier’s relatives, some of whom are known for aggressive deal-making, including his wife, oversee assets worth at least $2.7 billion,’ the paper states.

The NY Times website in English and Chinese was blocked in China on Friday morning, and searches for the NY Times as well as the names of Wen’s children and wife were blocked on China’s main Twitter-like microblogging service.

Wen’s mother was a teacher in northern China, and his father raised pigs during the Maoist forced labor campaigns in the countryside, the American daily recalls in a report published on Friday.

Now 90 years old, Yang Zhiyun, the premier’s mother, ‘has not only emerged from poverty but has undeniably become wealthy,’ writes the NY Times, citing a five-year-old investment in the name of Mrs. Yang in a Chinese financial services company amounting to $120 million. Wen’s mother, brothers, sisters, and children have accumulated most of the wealth since he became vice premier in 1998 and was promoted to premier in 2003.

Giving one example, the NY Times notes that a partnership overseen by Wen’s relatives and friends owns $2.2 billion in shares in the major insurance company Ping An Insurance, whose shareholder data was published last year in a public document.

‘In numerous cases, the names of Wen Jiabao’s close relatives are hidden behind multiple fronts and investments that involve friends, colleagues, and associates,’ the daily explains.

The premier’s family owns assets in banks, jewelry stores, tourist centers, a tire factory in northern China, telecommunications companies, and infrastructure projects, including a villa construction project in Beijing.

The NY Times presented its findings to the Chinese government for comment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment. Members of Wen’s family also declined to comment or did not respond to requests, the paper states.

The private lives of Chinese leaders as well as their assets are kept under a veil of secrecy, while their personal data is considered state secrets. However, cases of corruption and profiting from the power of lower officials are a frequent topic in Chinese media. Only occasionally do arrests and prosecutions of high-ranking officials occur.

In the biggest political scandal in recent decades, the now-removed party leader Bo Xilai, whose wife was convicted of corruption and murder in August, has been expelled from the party and is now awaiting trials for corruption, bribery, and sexual promiscuity. Bo was expelled from the Chinese parliament on Friday, and his trial is expected to begin soon.

The extended family of Xi Jinping, the current Chinese vice president whose appointment as head of the Communist Party is expected next month, and as president in March 2013, has also accumulated significant wealth, according to an earlier newspaper report.

Xi’s relatives have invested in companies with assets of $375 million and hold 18 percent of shares in a company valued at $1.7 billion, Bloomberg reported in June. The Bloomberg website has been blocked in China since the publication of that report, indicating the party and government’s sensitivity to such revelations about leading officials.