Chinese bottled water king & billionaire Zhong Shanshan recently took the world by shock when he replaced Mukesh Ambani as Asia's richest person. Rarely quoted in world press, Shanshan experienced what is being called one of the fastest accumulations of wealth in history as his net worth surged by $70.9 billion in 2020. He's also the 11th richest person on the planet currently, leaving behind tech billionaire, Jack Ma.
Born in 1954 in Hangzhou and dropping out of school at age 12, Zhong went on to try his hand at a multitude of odd occupations including construction work , mushroom farming, beverage sales and news reporting. It was only in 1996, when he decided to start his own company, Nongfu Springs, producing bottled water and grew steadily. Over the years, he paved the way for his company to become China's top beverage company.
But his sudden success, especially during the pandemic year can be owed to his decision of taking his pharma firm to be public at the Shanghai Stock Exchange in April. Chairman of vaccine maker, Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise CoShanshan also witnessed an immediate surge in his bottled water business as soon as his pharma firm went public. Wantai's shares went up by over 2000% and Nongfu's shares have also jumped 155% since it went public three months after Wantai.
Locally known as the 'Lone Wolf', Shanshan's net worth currently stands up at $77.8 billion and his achievement becomes all the more historic because of the fact that he was not at all well known outside China and even in his own country, he kept his opinions private unlike other business tycoons. He was never involved in politics and he kept his business interests to himself by not entwining with other rich families or even the media.
Zhong's firm Wantai is one of the enterprises developing a Covid-19 vaccine and his stocks touched peak this year, specially because Citigroup Inc. analysts declared that his company had solidified in the market enjoying ample cash flow. Shanshan is solely credited with the massive success of two of these unrelated businesses as he directly manages sales. branding and human resources of both the companies.
