Granddaughter of Mao Zedong Has Net Worth Over $800 Million
May 10th, 2013“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
— Animal Farm by George Orwell
Via: AFP:
The appearance of a grand-daughter of Mao Zedong, founding father of Communist China, on a list of the country’s richest citizens prompted online accusations of hypocrisy Thursday.
Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine.
Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting “Red Culture” after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
In 2011, Kong married Chen, who controls an insurance company, an auction house and a courier firm, after they had maintained an extramarital relationship for 15 years, according to the magazine, which cited other Chinese media reports.
The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy.
Kong’s inclusion on the rich list triggered hot debate on China’s Twitter-like weibos, with some accusing her of betraying her grandfather’s status as the “great teacher of proletariat revolution”.
“The offspring of Chairman Mao, who led us to eradicate private ownership, married a capitalist and violated the family planning policy to give birth to three illegal children,” wrote Luo Chongmin, a government advisor in southwest China.
More for Fans of Maoism: Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine by Jasper Becker
Research Credit: conceptualdecay
