14 IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON interested in selling mainly to other foreigners operating in China, but these companies are now beginning to compete head-on with domestic Chinese companies in a fight for market share as China's domestic population begins to have more spendable income. According to Forbes magazine, China is already just behind the United States when it comes to number of billionaires, and the rate at which new billionaires join the list has been nearly doubling yearly with the exception of 2009, when 19 Chinese billionaires dropped off the list, and the list itself contracted by 30% due to the global financial crisis. The key advantage, though, is that the Chinese are simply endowed with a greater hunger for success than many Westerners, and they are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve it. The Chinese term that well describes this trait is chi ku, or to "eat the bitterness that life offers." The risk, of course, is that some companies will go too far and cut too many corners in order