The media seems to take particular pleasure in reporting the mishaps of the young men and women from rich families. Stories of them rampaging on the streets in their Ferraris and Porsches or getting into brawls in exclusive nightclubs give casual readers the impression that it is a curse to be born rich.

This is a false impression. For a special report on the first anniversary of financial reforms in Wenzhou, our reporters recently interviewed several second-generation entrepreneurs in their late 20s to early 40s who have either created tremendous value for their family businesses or else steered them into new ventures that promise wider profit margins and greater growth potential.

Take Pan Jianzhong, the 43-year-old boss of one of Wenzhou's largest shoe manufacturers, which has annual sales exceeding $100 million. After graduating from a technical college in Shanghai, Pan returned to Wenzhou to take over the business that his mother founded in 1988 with just 5,000 yuan ($797).