Highest-earning dog in China making fortune off its fame#
The pet dog of Chinese richest son, Wang Sicong, called Wang Ke Ke, who was made famous by wearing luxury items like a Fendi bag and an iPhone smartwatch, has now become “the highest earning dog." Last April in 2016, one of Sicong’s friends, an e-commerce veteran, saw a potential business opportunity from the star puppy (who has 2.35 million fans on his own Weibo account), and used the dog’s name to open an official Taobao store that sells dog merchandise. The star effect brought him 130,000 yuan in sales on the first day. He said the KOL Dog’s fame saved him 2 to 3 years of hard work to jumpstart the online store but in order to make the business sustainable, he needs to focus on providing quality products and 24/7 customer service.
Weibo comment: “My KOL business couldn’t bring as much money as Wang Sicong’s puppy.”
Streetwear founder Edison Chen shows off picture of his newborn daughter#
It has been almost 10 years since the controversial celebrity Edison Chen retired from the entertainment industry. He now walks back into people’s conversations with a new title: founder of streetwear brand CLOT, and father. He recently posted a picture on Instragram of his newborn daughter in front of a stack of cash, which has attracted a lot of attention. Under the picture, he wrote, “young money," which was criticized by Chinese netizens as too flashy. With an estimated annual sale of more than 60 million yuan, his brand CLOT has become a leading streetwear brand that has won the hearts of trendy Chinese teenagers. 10 years ago, when he noticed the absence of streetwear culture in China, he got the idea for his brand.
Weibo comment: “He was just angry about his friend posting his daughter’s 100th-day picture. Now he's showing off again.”
Chinese professor comments on the problem of the gap between the rich and the poor#
A financial professor from a top tier Chinese university, the head of China's Family Finance Report and Study, Gan Li, posted on his Sina column about his latest finding on Chinese economic state which ignited heated debate about the gap between rich and poor. He mentioned there are two problems that Chinese society is facing in transitioning from a manufacture to consumption economy: not spending enough domestically and savings interests rates are too high. Because the poor don’t have the disposable income to save, the high-interest rates penetrate the gap between the rich and poor.
Weibo comment: “The housing market ate up all my savings.”
New Chinese slang has emerged among Chinese millennials#
Chinese millennials likes to make fun of themselves, and to get their jokes, you need to immerse yourself in their idiosyncratic culture. One recent phrase became very popular online: “You can inherit my money if I die." The intent of the phrase is to make fun of the Chinese millennials' poor financial situation. Considering the popularity of mobile payment, the slang further evolved swapping the word "money" for “Hua Bei," which is a popular credit software from Ant Financial. In other words, they're saying, “You can inherit my debt-filled credit card if I die.”
Weibo comment: “I think someone can inherit my 2 million Weibo fans.”