In Cambodia, the most powerful and powerful person is not King Sihamoni, but Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for 38 years. One of the world's longest-serving leaders, Hun Sen has been re-elected as Cambodia's prime minister since 1998.
Hun Sen's wife was Wen Lani, and they had three sons and two daughters. According to foreign media revelations, Cambodian First Lady Wen Lani likes a luxurious life, and on February 25, 2021, Wen Lani posted an undated photo on social media.
The photo shows that Wen Lani, the president of the Cambodian Red Cross, is wearing an expensive dress, a Versace T-shirt, a Hermès belt, and several expensive watches worth millions of dollars.
You know, it was a special period in the world, and as soon as these photos were released, they immediately attracted worldwide attention. Wen Lani has also been thrust into the limelight, widely criticized for her extravagant lifestyle.
As we all know, Cambodia, a small country, is very poor, with a total population of only about 17 million, but the gap between the rich and the poor is extremely serious.
With the exception of a few well-known large cities, a whopping 75% of the majority of the population lives in rural areas, numbering around 13 million. As of 2021, it is estimated that 2.8 million people live below the poverty line and do not even have enough to eat.
Judging from the photos of King Sihamoni going to the countryside to help the poor this year, the houses where these poor peasants live are all dilapidated houses, made of broken wooden boards or grass, and there is nothing in the house except a mat on the floor.
In the humble thatched kitchen, there was nothing but a few shabby pots. Cambodia has a tropical climate, the weather is very humid and hot, in this village without even water and electricity, it is impossible to bathe every day, how can these poor farmers spend every day?
Ms. Venlani is sixty-nine years old, perhaps because she has a heart for beauty and is very concerned about managing her image, but given that millions of people still hover near the poverty line, critics say Venlani's flaunting of her extravagant lifestyle is angering Cambodians.
In this couple's photo, Wen Lani is covered in luxury goods, and the large diamonds on her hands are blinding. Unlike many rich women, she also wears a high-end watch on her wrist, Richard Miller, worth 2 million yuan.
However, compared to the one on her husband's wrist, Venlani's watch is simply heaven and earth. It was a limited edition of about $2.7 million Rose Gold Patek Philippe Master String Tone Watch, released in late 2014 and one of only seven in the world, and Hun Sen owned one of them.
Compared with his wife's love of luxury clothing and accessories, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen seems to have only a soft spot for a variety of celebrities, including Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Vacheron Constantin, Richard Miller, Patek Philippe and others.
According to incomplete statistics, the Cambodian prime minister has at least ten coins, each of which is worth a lot. The watch alone, according to foreign media, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hun Sen's critics argue that Hun Sen came from humble beginnings and spent his entire career either serving in the military or in the public service, and currently receives only a meager official salary of about $2,500 a month. The watches were clearly and grossly at odds with his salary, and they suspected that the family's wealth came from corruption and embezzlement of national wealth.
It is understood that in the world of luxury, a Patek Philippe watch is not just a striking device, it is also a one-of-a-kind handmade heirloom that can be passed down from generation to generation - the cheapest model can sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and the best, the price can run into millions.
It is widely speculated that these watches, like the dazzling crowns and jewelry of Queen Elizabeth of the British royal family, can be passed down for many generations.
Another point Hun Sen has been criticized by opponents is that he is widely believed to be grooming his son to take over his class, something he himself has hinted at in the past, as the eldest son, Hummanai, a senior leader of Cambodia's J-team.
The second son, Hummanit, was a senior military intelligence officer, and the youngest son, Hommanit, was a parliamentarian. One daughter, Hong Mana, has become a business tycoon and is said to be the most owned business in the family, with ties to or interests in 22 companies with a registered share capital of more than $66 million.
According to Global Witness' report on the wealth of the Hun Sen family, under the protection of Hun Sen's power and influence, his family is involved in "a vast network of secret transactions and nepotism that originates from the Hun Sen family and supports Cambodia's economy."
Hun Sen's father was a Chinese Chaozhou in Guangdong, and Hun Sen was born into a middle-class (some say peasant family) in the rural province of Kampong Cham province. In fact, Hun Sen has always emphasized that he is a person of the people and compared himself to the people. He is good at speaking vernacular, often said that he understands the hopes and aspirations of rural people, and is respected as a civilian prime minister.
Hun Sen has also been working to carefully create an image of ordinary people, and through some of his social media accounts, it can be seen that he has been interacting with farmers and motorcycle taxi drivers, but the consumption level of their husband and wife has a strong contrast with these images.
However, it must be admitted that under the leadership of Hun Sen, Cambodia can end the war, focus on economic development, and achieve good results, but with the disconnection from ordinary people, the gap between Cambodia's rich and poor is getting bigger and bigger.
Lao Tzu mentioned the theory of wealth balance in the Tao Te Ching, but ordinary Cambodians were poor like this, but the Hun Sen family was rich. A gentleman loves money, and needs to take it from the people, use it for the people, be rich and proud, and bequeath himself, and the world must take it as a warning.