Once they were the stomping grounds of China's foreign and local capitalist elite -- grown rich on new industries such as textiles, trade and finance.

WSJ: Touring Asia's Art Deco Gems in Shanghai and Napier, New Zealand

In Freetown, the smashed-up capital of Sierra Leone, where hotels charge New York prices for rooms and meals, another moneyed elite (both local and foreign) inflates the price of everything from toothpaste to bananas.

ECONOMIST: Distorted war economies

But suspicion also arises: schism between local and national, between ordinary and elite.

FORBES: The End Of Europe: A Civilization Built On Sand

The success of the 2010 garden marked the first time in the history of the Chelsea show that a local authority had won gold in the elite large outdoor show garden category.

BBC: Award-winning Chelsea Flower Show garden opens in Leeds

The third consequence of increased competition for places in elite schools has been the displacement of local pupils by foreign ones.

ECONOMIST: Move over, Brits

Thatcher attended local state schools at a time when Conservative politicians were still mainly drafted from Britain's elite private schools.

WSJ: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Dies