The family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, a leader known for his humble background, has amassed assets worth at least $2.7 billion, revealed an investigative report by the New York Times.
Shortly after the revelations, the Chinese authorities banned everything that is connected with the New York Times in China including the main NYT website, its Chinese website and even any searchers on NYT or Wen's children and wife on China's main Twitter-like microblog service.
"A review of corporate and regulatory records indicates that the prime minister's relatives, some of whom have a knack for aggressive deal-making, including his wife, have controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion," the report said.
The family members including his mother, siblings and children began accumulating large amounts of wealth ever since he was named vice premier in 1998. The report said that his son, daughter, younger brother and brother-in-law, have become extraordinarily wealthy during his leadership.
According to the documents obtained by the Times, the family's business ventures got financial backing from state-owned companies, including China Mobile which is an example of how politically connected people have profited from being at the intersection of government and business in China. The family businesses even got support from other richest business tycoons in Asia.
"Wen's relatives accumulated shares in banks, jewelers, tourist resorts, telecommunications companies and infrastructure projects, sometimes by using offshore entities," the report said.
In one instance, his brother's company was awarded government contracts and subsidies worth $30 million to handle wastewater treatment and medical waste disposal for some of China's biggest cities.
The family's holdings include a villa development project in Beijing; a tire factory in northern China; a company that helped build some of Beijing's Olympic stadiums, including the well-known "Bird's Nest"; and Ping An Insurance, one of the world's biggest financial services companies etc.
