Beijing is now the billionaire capital of the world

admin 2021年4月23日

Intermediate

Business & Economy, world news, world news - intermediate

Pre-reading questions:

I will read each question. Then, please answer them.

Do you save up money? Why or why not?
Do you shop online? Why?

Vocabulary:

I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.

containment /kuhn-TEYN-muhnt/

[noun] – the act of controlling or limiting something or someone harmful
The firefighters handled the containment of the fire quickly.

firm /furm/

[noun] – a company offering a professional service, for example a company of lawyers:
My brother is going to work part-time at a law firm this summer.

net worth /net werth/

[noun] – the value of the assets (= property and money) that a person or business has
Celebrities in America have the biggest net worth.

shareholder /SHAIR-hohl-der/

[noun] – a person who owns shares in a company and therefore gets part of the company’s profits and the right to vote on how the company is controlled
My father is one of the shareholders of an Italian food company.

manufacturing /man-yuh-FAK-cher-ing/

[noun] – the business of producing goods in large numbers
Isuzu is one of the top car manufacturing companies in Japan.

Article reading:

Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

Beijing City, the capital of China, now has a total of 100 billionaires as its residents, making it the billionaire capital of the world, as stated by Forbes’ yearly list of the world’s richest people for 2021. The city of Beijing closely beats New York City which held the top spot for seven years and has a current total of 99 billionaires. Beijing’s rise to the top spot is due to its fast containment of the COVID-19 virus and its successful technologies firms. However, New York City’s billionaires combined net worth remains greater than those in Beijing. The richest citizen of Beijing is Zhang Yiming, the creator of the video-sharing app TikTok, whose net worth is now $35.6bn. In New York, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is currently the richest citizen with a net worth of $59bn.

China, along with the US has seen the incredible growth of technology markets due to the increasing number of online shoppers in the pandemic. This has contributed to the personal wealth gained by founders and shareholders of many technology and manufacturing companies. With China’s total number of 668 billionaires, it is now catching up to the US’ 724 billionaires. Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, remains the world’s richest person. His net worth grew by $64bn to $177bn in the past year.

Comprehension questions

I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.

Which city in the US held the top spot for seven years and has a current total of 99 billionaires?
What is the reason behind Beijing’s rise to the top spot?
What is the reason behind the incredible growth of technology markets in both China and the US?
What has contributed to the personal wealth gained by founders and shareholders of many technology companies?
What is Jeff Bezos’ current net worth?

Discussion questions

I will read each question. Then, please answer them.

Do you think Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires List is important? Why or why not?
Why do you think technology is making people richer?
What characteristics do you think billionaires have in common?
At what age should a person start saving money? Please explain your answer.
Do you think there will be more billionaires in the future? Why or why not?