众所周知，华人在东南亚国家属于少数族裔：马来西亚华人一度占总人口25%，；泰国华人很大一部分已经融入泰国社会，难以分辨，估计占总人口14%；东南亚最大的国家印尼，华人仅占5%；而菲律宾华人，则不到2%。但是，占人口比例相对较少的华人，却控制着这些国家多数大公司，手握大量社会资源和财富。马来西亚70%的企业都是由华人创办的，过去30年印尼首富基本上是福建人把持着，以菲律宾前首富施至成为代表的“福建帮”，垄断着菲律宾首都马尼拉的大部分财富。
那么，为何华人能在东南亚造出这么一批世界级巨富？，我们看看各国网友的观点。
印尼网友IKhan Radjab的回答
When I was young, I once asked my father the same question. He answered my question based on his anecdotal experience, which may not be accurate, but can provide some insights. His answer is:
小时候，我曾经问过我父亲这个完全相同的问题。他根据自己的轶事经验回答了我的问题，这可能不准确，但可以提供一些见解。他的回答是：
When I was a little boy, Indonesian Chinese were as poor as us. Later they started small businesses. But what makes them expand their business faster? Because they have invested a lot of money in the business. They use blood, sweat and tears to develop their family business so that their families can live a comfortable life one day. If they earn 1000 rupees, they will only use 100 rupees for personal hobbies. Then, they will use the remaining money to expand their business. They are very happy to delay enjoying and buying high-end shirts and jewelry. In short, they are willing to give up personal luxury packaging to expand their business.
当我还是个小男孩的时候，印尼华人和我们一样穷。后来他们开始做小生意。但是什么让他们能够更快地扩展业务，因为他们在业务上投入了大量资金。他们用鲜血、汗水和眼泪发展自己的家族企业，以便他们的家人有一天能过上舒适的生活。如果他们赚了1000卢比，他们只会用100卢比用于个人爱好。然后，他们将用剩下的钱来扩大业务。他们非常乐意延迟享受，推迟购买高档衬衫和珠宝。简而言之，他们愿意放弃个人奢侈包装来扩大业务。