How Zhong Shanshan became China’s richest man with a net worth of $77.5 billion dollars

How Zhong Shanshan became China’s richest man with a net worth of $77.5 billion dollars

Zhong Shanshan (Chinese:pinyin: Zhng Shnshn) is a Chinese millionaire businessman who was born in December 1954.

He is the majority owner of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise and also the founder and chairman of the Nongfu Spring beverage company.

With a net worth of over $75 billion, he's the richest Chinese citizen.

Zhong was the 13th richest person on the Forbes Billionaires 2021 List, with a net worth of $65.7 billion at the time. His primary sources of income are beverages and pharmaceuticals.

How Zhong Shanshan became Asia's wealthiest man

Zhong established a bottled water firm in Hangzhou in 1996, which became Nongfu Spring. Nongfu Spring ceased extracting natural minerals from its water in 1999. This was a wise marketing approach that helped them gain plenty of exposure with their target market. It was popular in China at the time, when distilled water was the norm, despite concerns about its health advantages or lack thereof. Under Zhong's guidance, the organization grew to become China's largest bottled water manufacturer and one of the world's largest beverage corporations.

Nongfu Spring has been the biggest seller of bottled beverages in China since 2012. It held this position for eight years in a row.

The initial public offering of Nongfu Spring in September 2020 significantly enhanced Zhong's wealth. It boosted his fortune from $18.9 billion to over $50 billion. According to Bloomberg and Forbes, this made him China's wealthiest or second-wealthiest person. Zhong was named Asia's wealthiest person by Forbes at the end of 2020. In line with Forbes, Nongfu Spring's rising share price made him China's wealthiest person and also the world's sixth wealthiest person in January 2021, with a net worth of 95 billion dollars.

However, he was only the wealthiest Asian for a short time before being surpassed by Mukesh Ambani of India. His rise coincided with a wealth wave in China, where over 100 billionaires were declared in 2020, altogether adding 0.5 trillion dollars to their fortunes.

However, he lost nearly $30 billion and was ranked third among Asia's wealthiest people, after Indians Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Zhong had 75% ownership in Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy as of September 2020.  Wantai went public in April 2020, boosting Zhong's riches and increasing his wealth.  He was the chairman of Nongfu Spring and owned 84.4% as of January 2021 as well.

How rich is Zhong Shanshan

Shanshan's net worth has risen to $77.5 billion dollars. Over the years, the Chinese bottled water billionaire has made significant progress. Shanshan's riches have increased as a result of the subsequent elements, according to experts:

-          His company benefited from the strong demand for Covid-19 test kits.

-          Nongfu Spring and Wantai Biological Pharmacy's stock has been listed on the stock market within the last year.

Zhong Shanshan is known for his low-key lifestyle, unlike his fellow Asian billionaires who splurge out on real estate and luxury items.

He lives in Hangzhou, a city of about 10 million people in eastern China known for its scenic landscape as well as its trading hub. According to CNN Business, the city had at least 32 billionaires in 2016, including Jack Ma.