Backlash over Picasso Purchase

What better way to connect with the common people than spending $28m on a Picasso that they'll never see?  Well that's what Wang Jianlin's Wanda Group seems to think, and it faced the tide of public outcry today, as Chinese people figured out that money could be better spent elsewhere, and the artwork wasn't Chinese.

"Only an enterprise with culture can understand art and collect the best artwork in the world," said Mr Wang, as tucked into a Bald Eagle egg omelette (so we're told), which did little to quell jibes that collected on Weibo (where else?).

"With that money, how many sick people could receive treatment? Why not give something back to society first?" said one person posting on China's hugely popular microblogs, adding: "China's nouveau riche are short of nothing except conscience."

Perhaps they're all just angry that Wang didn't even bother getting a discount - he paid twice the estimate of $12m.  He may not know art, but he knows what he likes.

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