Zhong Shanshan

Zhong Shanshan: Career Highlights

In 1988, Zhong Shanshan moved to Hainan, where he sold mushrooms, prawns, and turtles. He also worked at the Wahaha beverage company as a sales agent and sold healthcare supplements. In 1996, he founded a bottled water company in Hangzhou, which later became Nongfu Spring. Nongfu Spring stopped removing natural minerals from its water in 1999, a savvy marketing move that increased exposure. The company grew to become the largest bottled water maker in China and one of the largest beverage companies in the world.

Zhong Shanshan's company beat out industry giants like Coca-Cola, Watsons, and Pepsi to become the best-selling packaged beverage brand in China. He utilized new technologies like cloud computing and big data to understand his customer base and expand his market. Nongfu Spring's natural water became the most popular bottled water in China in 2012 and has been the number one seller of packaged beverages in China for eight consecutive years since then.

Nongfu Spring's initial public offering in September 2020 significantly increased Zhong's wealth. He became China's wealthiest or second-wealthiest person, according to Bloomberg and Forbes respectively.

At the end of 2020, Forbes listed him as Asia's wealthiest person. In January 2021, Forbes reported that Zhong was China's wealthiest and the world's sixth wealthiest person, with a net worth of $95 billion. He was briefly Asia's wealthiest person before being overtaken by Mukesh Ambani of India.

Zhong's rise in wealth coincided with a surge in Chinese billionaires, with over 100 minted in 2020, adding $0.5 trillion collectively. By September 2020, he owned a 75% stake in Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, which went public in April 2020, further increasing his wealth. As of January 2021, he owned 84.4% of Nongfu Spring and served as the company's chairperson.