In his latest book on Asian capitalism, Joe Studwell rejects popular theories about 'chopstick capitalism' and myths about cultural superiority or ethnic endowment, writes Leo Goodstadt

Joe Studwell is worth a dozen business consultants. His previous best-seller, The China Dream: The Elusive Quest for the Greatest Untapped Market on Earth, was a compelling compilation of cautionary tales for foreigners hoping to make a fortune out of the Chinese economic miracle.

His new book debunks another set of myths about how money is made, this time in southeast Asia.

His theme is the mega-rich, the Asian plutocrats who have amassed fortunes beyond all dreams of avarice. So what makes them different from the Bill Gates and the Warren Buffetts of the United States - or the Quinns and Smurfits of Ireland?

The answer lies in Asia's turbulent history which created an environment hostile to the growth of trade and industry: colonial exploitation, Japanese invasion, political revolutions and the constant threat of coups and insurgency.

Throw in the tensions and turmoil caused by the Cold War from 1949 until 1978 or so, and the economic dynamism of this troubled corner of Asia and the emergence of its billionaires seem an even more remarkable miracle than China's progress in the last three decades.

Studwell looks for an explanation of the astonishing performance of southeast Asia in the careers of the men who were both the architects of its economic take-off and its greatest beneficiaries.

He rejects popular theories about "chopstick capitalism" and myths about cultural superiority or ethnic endowment.

Instead, he searches for the personal factors which made possible the creation of massive fortunes against very considerable odds.

Studwell produces a paradigm that commands considerable credibility. The most obvious attribute of these tycoons is their ability to survive in a politically hostile environment.

Hong Kong and Singapore are the obvious exceptions, however.

The rich in these two city states have never faced the threat of expropriation and only rarely the risk of kidnap.

Elsewhere in this corner of Asia, however, the rich have always been at the mercy of the political masters of their countries.

In colonial times, the danger for the indigenous entrepreneur or investor was the privileged position of the expatriate companies.Independence brought campaigns for nation building, economic development and social progress, and state control of the financial sector, foreign trade and major industries came into fashion.

Businessmen could survive only through the goodwill of the dominant political clique, which often had to be purchased at a considerable price.

The immediate result was rural stagnation, chronic smuggling to evade punitive tariffs, pandemic corruption and economic malaise.

Unlike the rest of the Third World, southeast Asia found salvation through its access to international markets, Studwell argues, and the riches that could be won through the efforts of the export sector, provided that the business elite could build an alliance with the ruling class.

The author provides crisp portraits of the individuals who prospered in this setting, country by country. As a result, the reader is led effortlessly through the main features of the political environment which shapes the fortunes of the major business activities in each nation.

He captures the key cultural factors at work and identifies the social dynamics that create the tensions as well as the opportunities for the business players.

It is, of course, political power that counts in the last resort. No matter how enormous a family's wealth, money buys no more than influence. Power belongs to the political rulers.

This is above all a book about people. Studwell writes convincingly about the rich, reporting on them as individuals with very different characteristics even within the same family.

He has an instinct for spotting the personal connections that matter, through education, dialect or early careers. He has no need to regale the reader with tabloid gossip about the private scandals and family failings of the rich and famous. He relies instead on a journalistic gift of a very high order - the ability to persuade wealthy or highly placed figures to answer his questions with a frankness that many will find embarrassing when they read this book.

He treats his subjects with dignity, despite the often unsavoury origins of their fortunes. He recognises that their wealth is very different from the loot amassed by corrupt autocrats or warlords.

To build and preserve a business fortune is a process that requires considerable talent and extreme dedication.

Studwell has a very sure touch when describing the characteristics which most of these billionaires share. They seem to suffer in particular from serious conflicts about their identity.

In Indonesia and Thailand, the assimilation of the Chinese has been underway over a very long period, for example. But there is always the fear that during a surge in local nationalism, Chinese forebears may prove a dangerous liability.

The most successful businessmen develop significant relations with Western commercial and financial institutions. They appreciate the comforts of Western lifestyles and they want the best of education for their children, for which they turn mostly to American and English universities.

Nearly always, Studwell notes, they are charming as well as cosmopolitan. Yet, this book leaves the reader with a sense that it is, after all, a rogues' gallery.

The "Asian Godfathers" made their money through a ruthlessness that is possible only where the political system concentrates power in the hands of a tiny elite.

Leo Goodstadt has an extensive career in Asian business and government. An adjunct professor at TCD, his latest book, Profits, Politics and Panics: Hong Kong's Banks and the Making of a Miracle Economy, 1935-1985, will appear in October.

BOOK REVIEW:Leo Goodstadt Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and south-east Asia by Joe Studwell; Profile Books; £15.00