A Widening Wealth Gap in Hong Kong

Liu Yefen leads the way up seven flights of stairs, past crumbling plaster and dripping pipes, to the Hong Kong home the 37-year-old migrant from China and her three sons occupy. Clothes festoon the metal-framed bunk bed the family shares in the 180-square-foot apartment, obstructing light from the only window.

Two miles south, Jane Guo’s hotel room at the five-star Kowloon Shangri-La overlooks Hong Kong harbor and the financial district—home to the world’s fifth-biggest stock market and the Asian headquarters for Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, and HSBC Holdings. The 27-year-old head of an auto valet service in the mainland city of Guangzhou is in town to shop for Coach sunglasses and bags—and possibly a third Hong Kong apartment. She bought two already for HK$10.5 million ($1.34 million) in cash in order to gain Hong Kong residency rights.