The 60-page report sets out the number of Chinese high net worth individuals (HNWIs), together with an analysis of their spiritual investment preferences and trends, based on the results of a survey of 1019 dollar millionaires from around the country.

The Industrial Bank and Hurun Report jointly released the China Spiritual Investments White Paper 2014. 

• 100,000 new dollar millionaires created in China in past year, totaling 2.9m individuals.
• 2500 super-rich Chinese – defined as individuals with CNY 100m – created, growing to 67,000 individuals
• Overall ‘spiritual satisfaction' level scored 75 points, whilst richest 10% showed higher degrees of satisfaction.
• Health, travel and education considered most important for Chinese millionaires.
• Top 3 hobbies of Chinese HNWIs are fine cuisine, travel and exercising.
• Health satisfaction level scored 79 points; healthy diet and exercise main methods of managing health.
• Jogging is the most popular form of exercise, followed by badminton and swimming; Exercise 3 hours per week.
• 80% have medical checkup once a year, 14% every six months; while 1/4 of the richest 10% have a checkup every six months.
• Over half travelled abroad at least once last year, spending an average of CNY 64,000.
• Reading and executive MBAs most popular for continuous learning.  Chinese millionaire reads 10 hours a week; richest 10% read 15 hours.
• Only 10% have no plans to send children to study abroad.
• Environment concerns high; 87% dissatisfied with pollution levels.
• Young rich increasingly use social media to spread awareness of charitable causes.
• 3/4 purchased insurance for themselves and their families, with an average annual premium of CNY 13,000
• Over half of the 1019 millionaires surveyed are from second and third tier cities.

This is the third year Hurun Report and the Industrial Bank have released a report on the size of the Chinese luxury consumer market, analyzing the number of dollar millionaires in China and number of super-rich, defined as individuals with personal wealth of CNY 100 million (equivalent to US$16 million).

This is an English language summary of the full Chinese press release which can be found at www.hurun.net. For media enquiries please contact our public relations team whose contact details can be found at the end of this report.

Although China's GDP showed a steady trend of 7.7% growth last year, the dollar millionaires in China only increased by 3.6% to 2.9 million individuals. Super rich Chinese, defined as those with assets of over CNY 100 million, increased by 4%, to 67,000 million individuals. The Hurun Research Institute predicts that the dollar millionaires in China could reach 3.35 million within three years.

The report shows Chinese HNWIs attitudes towards their spiritual and physical health. They exercise 3 hours a week.  Reading and executive education are most popular forms of continuous learning, with reading taking up 10 hours a week.

Xue Ruifeng, Industrial Bank Private Banking Department General Manager, said, "As China's first and only member of Equator Bank and Alxa Association, Industrial Bank is committed to social responsibility and the development of green finance. As these are growing concerns among the high-net worth crowd, understanding what drives passion allows private banks to gain a deeper understanding of investment demand.  We are proud to put out this white paper with the Hurun Report, the authority when it comes to the Chinese luxury consumer."

Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher, Rupert Hoogewerf, said, "Chinese millionaires are setting aside more time than I expected towards reading and learning, as well as exercise.  I am delighted to put out a report on the Chinese HNWI for the third year running with the Industrial Bank."

Geographical Distribution of dollar millionaires in China

Beijing remains home to the most Chinese dollar millionaires with 16.9% followed by 16.8% in Guangdong and 14.5% in Shanghai.

The number and distribution of dollar millionaires in China

Source: Hurun Research Institute

Report sound bites

Major spiritual investments were made in health, travel and education, followed by social responsibility, insurance, and religion. Overall satisfaction level scored 75 points, while the richest 10% scored a higher level of satisfaction.  Top 3 hobbies are fine cuisine, travel and sports.

Health satisfaction scored 79 points; healthy diet and exercise are the main methods of managing health.  Jogging is the most popular sport, followed by badminton and swimming. Exercise 3 hours per week.  80% have a medical examination once a year. Only 14% have one every six months, while over 1/4 of the richest 10% have a checkup every six months.

Over half have travelled overseas at least once this past year, spending an average of CNY 64,000.

Reading was viewed as the best way to self-educate. On average, they read 10 hours per week, while richest 10% read 15 hours. Training courses such as MBA/EMBA were viewed as the second largest form of self-education, followed by attending exhibitions and participating in forums and seminars.

30% plan to send their children to study abroad, while only 10% said they would not. 60% stated they will analyze the situation before deciding.

Environmental protection is considered a higher priority than charity with 87% dissatisfied with the pollution.

3/4 purchased insurance for themselves and their families, with an average annual premium of CNY 13,000.

Full report can be read HERE