Hongkongers weigh in on 'rich second generation' colleagues

閱讀中文版本

Life isn't fair. Some people are born with more resources than others. Studies have shown wealthy kids are 35% more likely to become high earners than clever, disadvantaged young people, even if they are not academically gifted.

In Hong Kong, developer hegemony and the resulting housing prices mean many young people are unable to buy a flat. The only ones that can often have rich parents. As a result, this "rich second generation" has become a target for public shaming.

Earlier this year, a young employee made the news for wearing a diamond watch to work. Her exquisite time piece was met with jeers from her supervisor and colleagues who said she is "too wealthy to have a job".

It is never fair to doubt one's ability based on his or her family background, but some employers are worried about hiring someone from the rich second generation in case they could care less about reporting to work.

Recently, a blog post on Hong Kong Discussion Group entitled "Why would you look down on people with a rich father?", sparked a heated discussion among netizens about their perception of the wealthy and privileged.

According to the writer of the post, if offspring of high flyers are able to inherit the intelligence of their parents and become high flyers themselves, nobody will ever have a bone to pick with them.

On the other hand, rich second generation members who have directly inherited the family wealth are being labelled as worthless. He felt inheriting intelligence and wealth is the same thing, and doesn't understand why the latter gets so much criticism.

Unsurprisingly, many netizens disagree. They believe members of the rich second generation are not respectable because they live a luxury life funded by their wealthy parents, not their own income.

The writer of the post rebutted that many of them are professionals in top jobs who make a huge contribution to the society. But many readers argued most rich second generation members rely on their rich and powerful parents to get spots at top schools and jobs.

There are also those who believe people have a negative attitude towards the rich second generation because they are jealous and have a "despise the rich and look down on the poor" mentality.

Please share with us on social media your thoughts on hiring candidates from rich backgrounds.

ALSO READ: The key to screening out unmotivated fresh graduates

Photo/ 123RF