Nongfu Spring founder, Zhong Shanshan has usurped tech tycoon, Jack Ma as China’s richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The businessman who spun his wealth from bottled water and vaccines’ net worth has hit US$58.7 billion after a massive listing by the water company in the Hong Kong.
This makes him US$2 billion richer than previous number one, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, the wealth index said. He has also become the second richest person in Asia behind India’s Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire behind Reliance Industries and 17th overall on Bloomberg Billionaires Index list of the world’s top 500 richest people.
Zhong’s Nongfu Spring, which claims to be number one in China’s massive bottled water market, is abundant in the country, because most people avoid using tap water for health reasons.
The company which raised nearly US$1.1 billion in its initial public offering also sells teas, flavoured vitamin drinks and juices.
Zhong is also the chairman of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, a vaccine manufacturer that listed on the mainland in April 2020.
The Biological Pharmacy has partnered with a two major universities to develop a Covid-19 vaccine nasal spray and his controlling stake in the firm saw his overall wealth jump as much as $20bn by August.
The 66-year old billionaire who once worked as a construction worker also a former reporter from the Zhejiang, often referred to by the Chinese media as a “lone wolf” for his rare public appearances and reluctance to be interviewed.
He founded Nongfu in 1996, just as China’s bottled water market began to take off.
Most of China’s new billionaires come from the tech industry but rising tensions between China and the US over Huawei, TikTok and WeChat have pushed down valuations of Chinese tech stocks
Alibaba-backed Ant Group is due to list on Chinese and Hong Kong stock exchanges in October, which will boost the tech boss’s wealth even further.
The online payments firm could net Mr Ma an estimated $28bn if the company achieves the $250bn valuation it has been targeting.
Shaun Rein from China Market Research Group told reporters, “I expect Ant to get to a $250bn to $300bn market capitalisation. Compare that with Citigroup which I believe is a little above $100bn. The world’s largest financial Institutions are now in China.
“Ant will raise around $30bn and I think will be the world’s largest IPO ever, beating out Saudi Arabia’s Aramco from last year that went public just north of $29bn.”
David Dai, senior analyst at asset managers Bernstein in Hong Kong, added why the company is such a major player in China’s digital payments industry.
“Together with Tencent, Ant processes some 200 trillion RMB (£22.5tn; $28.8tn) of payment and transfers annually. That’s more volume than Visa and Mastercard combined.”
But, according to the company’s own online profile, it’s not size that matters but longevity: “We do not pursue size or power; we aspire to be a good company that will last for 102 years.”
