Rich People Problems

Rich People Problems, a contemporary romantic comedy of manners, was published in 2017. It is the third and final book in Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” trilogy, which includes the first installment, the eponymous Crazy Rich Asians (2013), and the second, China Rich Girlfriend (2015). Crazy Rich Asians was adapted into a film, released in 2018 and starring Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. The film was a box-office success.

Plot Summary

Rich People Problems opens with the big problem of Shang Su Yi’s poor heart health. The elderly woman is on her death bed, which leads her children and grandchildren to wonder what will become of the grande dame’s estate, particularly her resplendent mansion, Tyersall Park, and its immense surrounding property. Several of Su Yi’s relatives dream of what they will do if they inherit the property, or what they would do with their share of a portion of the profits from selling the property. The only ones who do not concern themselves with Su Yi’s estate are her favorite grandchildren—Astrid, who is far too concerned with the scandal surrounding her true love, Charlie Wu’s, extravagant Bollywood-inspired proposal in India; and Nick, who has been estranged from his grandmother since she expressed her disapproval of his marriage to his current wife, Rachel.

Nick, at the urging of Rachel, returns to Singapore and sees his grandmother at Tyersall Park. During the visit, Nick and Su Yi not only make amends, but Nick learns a great deal about his grandmother’s illustrious early life and understands that Tyersall Park is far more than a beloved childhood playground—it’s a historical landmark.

While Su Yi’s progeny worry and fight over her estate, other characters in the Singaporean elite similarly worry and fight over money and influence. Kitty Pong—the wife of Chinese billionaire Jack Bing—is at war with her husband’s daughter, Colette, who has married a British aristocrat in what might be an attempt to permanently one-up her loathed stepmother. Kitty’s employee—Shang relative, Oliver T’sien—relies on Kitty’s class insecurity to remain employed, due to his family being in dire economic straits.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Astrid—the novel’s star-crossed couple—are perpetually foiled by Astrid’s family, and the schemes of their respective estranged spouses, Isabel Wu and Michael Teo. Though Charlie and Astrid eventually end up together, it is not their marriage that concludes the novel but that of Goh Peik Lin and Alistair Cheng. This union is more significant because it also results in the survival of Tyersall Park which, in turn, results in the cohesion of the Shang family.