Bloomberg reports on a fascinating report that examines the composition of the Chinese legislature:

• The increase in the wealth of the richest 70 members of China’s legislature ($11.5 billion) in 2011 was more than the entire net worth of the entire US Congress, the President, the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court ($7.5 billion).
• The richest member of the United States congress, with a net worth of $700.9 million, would rank just 40^th in the list of the richest in China’s legislature.
• China’s top political leaders – including the President – don’t disclose their personal finances.

To read other startling comparisons as well as more about the former Chinese President who allowed the rich onto the legislature, why in a country of weak legal rights, it is in the interest of the rich to be on the legislature, and where their wealth comes from click here.

Source: Bloomberg

Via: Shanghai List, Marginal Revolution