Despite the fact that the growing number of China's new rich are making a fortune through hard work, the wealthy people in general are still deemed "socially unacceptable" by the general public.

Two-thirds of respondents labeled the country's new rich "low" in terms of overall "quality", an online survey jointly conducted by China Youth Daily and media portal Sina.com. said on Tuesday.

About 67 percent of the 3,990 respondents said China's rich were of "low" or "very low" quality while only four percent thought highly of them, it said.

What the respondents find most unacceptable about the rich are the often illegitimate ways they accumulated wealth and arrogant behavior after being rich, the survey said, without giving figures.

"Many rich men make their first fortune through illegal dealings such as bribery, and some, after getting rich, indulge themselves in material pursuits such as fancy cars and luxurious villas," said Yuan Xiaoying, a postgraduate student of the Communication University of China.

In recent years, media reports about Mercedes Benz and BMW-driving wealthy people showing little sympathy for the injured or dead in traffic accidents have caused nationwide outrage, fueling public resentment towards the rich.

"The negative social perception of China's rich also reflects their limited contribution to society," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor at Peking University.

Global consultancy McKinsey said in a report earlier this year that the number of affluent people on the Chinese mainland -- defined as those with an annual income of 50,000 U.S. dollars -- had exceeded 1.5 million, and the number was growing by more than 15 percent a year.

The respondents said rich people should have social responsibility, be kind-hearted and have a "clean" history of accumulating wealth.

But these three qualities were exactly what respondents find China's rich people are most in need of, the survey said.

"Some Chinese billionaires make easy money by turning state-owned assets into their own. Experiencing no hardship, they lack the sense of gratitude, and would not think of paying back to society," Xia said.

Yu Guoming, professor of Renmin University of China, said Chinese entrepreneurs were not yet strong enough to fulfill their social responsibilities, as most were still in the early stages of wealth accumulation.

Li Ka-Shing, businessman and philanthropist from Hong Kong, is the most respected rich man among the respondents, followed by Bill Gates of Microsoft and Wang Shi, of China Vanke Co., the country's largest property developer.

"It's understandable for Chinese to admire those rich men, because their active involvement in philanthropy had earned their good reputations," Yu said.

Editor: Donald