China has approximately 2.066 million households with A8 level net assets.

Written by: Liu Jiaolian

A friend sent me a joke: while chatting with a few friends who play tennis, we all agreed that for Chinese people, especially young people from small towns working in major companies, as long as you’re not a slacker and have a skill, it’s quite normal to have 10 to 20 million in net cash before the age of 35, as long as you don’t make reckless investments or start businesses haphazardly.

I have to say, the internet has greatly amplified people's anxieties in various aspects. Anxiety about appearance, wealth anxiety, anxiety about children’s education, and so on. Often, it’s not that the world is genuinely that anxiety-inducing, but rather that the online comedians are exaggerating too much.

Just like the typical "Zhihu million annual salary" meme, it seems that A8 (referring to a net asset of 10 million, or an 8-digit net worth) is quite ordinary on the internet. In the cryptocurrency world, A9 seems to be easily within reach for everyone, with high leverage making it feel like picking fruit from a tree.

So, returning to reality, how difficult is it to achieve A8 net assets?

In fact, it is indeed very difficult.

According to the report data from the Hurun Research Institute for 2024 and 2025, the number of households in China with A8 level net assets (i.e., over 10 million RMB) is approximately 2.066 million.

This 2.066 million households account for a very low proportion of the total number of households in the country, roughly only 0.5%. If calculated per individual, considering that some households may have multiple high-net-worth members, the actual number of individuals at the A8 level may range from 3 million to 5 million.

3 million to 5 million, compared to the total population of 1.4 to 1.5 billion in the country, accounts for about 0.2% to 0.35%.

Let’s put it this way: in non-dense social situations and without going to places with huge crowds, an ordinary urban resident can typically encounter around 200 to 1,000 people in a day during normal activities like eating, shopping, and commuting. In other words, if you are A8, on a normal day out, almost everyone you encounter while eating, shopping, or commuting is likely to be less wealthy than you.

This group of individuals with net assets above A8 is referred to as "high-net-worth families," primarily distributed in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, with Beijing having the highest number of high-net-worth families (299,000 households), followed by Shanghai (265,000 households).

In terms of composition, business owners account for 54% (approximately 1.116 million households), white-collar workers (executives, professionals) account for 34% (approximately 702,000 households), retail investors account for 7% (approximately 145,000 households), and real estate investors account for 5% (approximately 103,000 households).

From a city distribution perspective, there are 299,000 households in Beijing, 265,000 in Shanghai, 210,000 in Hong Kong, 79,000 in Shenzhen, and 73,000 in Guangzhou.

In recent years, the number of high-net-worth families has decreased (by 17,000 households in 2024), mainly due to adjustments in the real estate market and economic conditions. The proportion of real estate investors has significantly declined, from 10% in 2020 to 5% in 2024.

According to CICC data, the average assets of the top 1% of wealthy individuals in China (approximately 4.6 million people) is 63 million, while the average assets of the middle class (approximately 99 million people) is only 1 million, and the remaining 1.3 billion people have a total asset of only 30 trillion.

A8 (10 million) belongs to the top of the wealth pyramid, far exceeding the ordinary middle class (A7, 1 million level), and even in first-tier cities, families owning properties worth tens of millions may not necessarily reach A8, as net assets must deduct liabilities.

Not to mention the two stringent conditions mentioned in the opening joke about A8: first, A8 net cash, meaning high liquidity assets, which excludes real estate and other immovable properties; second, the age must not exceed 35, or be around 35.

Due to the cultural preference for real estate, many families have their wealth concentrated in properties, but in recent years, the growth rate of housing prices has slowed or even declined, leading to asset depreciation. For example, a homebuyer in Beijing purchased a property for 6.8 million in 2022, but by 2025, its valuation was only 6.4 million, resulting in a loss of 1 million when including interest.

The reality is that relying solely on salary income makes it almost impossible to reach A8. For instance, a typical ride-hailing driver earns only 3,000 to 5,000 yuan a month, and even after working for 50 years, they would not be able to accumulate a million in assets.

The wealth growth of individuals above A8 relies on investments, entrepreneurship, or resource integration, rather than mere labor. For example, those who succeed in short videos, live streaming sales, or entrepreneurship may quickly rise, but ordinary people lack the relevant knowledge and opportunities.

Additionally, the A8 and above group often forms closed social circles, making it difficult for ordinary people to access effective information or resources. This is known as the famous "bus theory": those who get on the bus first want to weld the doors shut to prevent later competitors from getting on.

Finally, debt pressure and industry fluctuations also make the wealth creation path for ordinary people full of obstacles. 38.7% of Chinese households have a debt-to-asset ratio exceeding 60%, with high mortgage, education, and retirement expenses squeezing the space for wealth accumulation. Some middle-class individuals have downgraded to A5-A6 due to industry downturns (such as education and real estate), indicating the instability of their wealth structure.

In recent years, with the development of emerging technologies like the internet, some super individuals have built influence through self-media (such as short videos and public accounts) and achieved wealth leaps. By starting businesses or investing, those with a net income of over 3 million for 3-5 years may enter A8. These are new opportunities granted to ordinary people in the new era.

However, generally speaking, when a new wealth opportunity becomes known to everyone, it often means that the period of benefits is about to pass. At this point, those who are late to realize and invest may become the ones left holding the bag.

In summary, achieving A8 net assets requires breaking through income ceilings, seizing the era's dividends (such as real estate and the internet), possessing high-level cognition, and avoiding economic risks. For the vast majority of people, it is very difficult to achieve this solely through personal effort.

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