Mukesh Ambani’s two-year reign as Asia’s richest person has come to an end. The person who ended Ambani reign has a major business in manufacturing bottled water and is a native of China.
Bloomberg reports that this billionaire who is also a vaccine investor has surpassed the Indian businessman to become the continent’s wealthiest man. His name is Zhong Shanshan.
Shanshan’s fortune grew by more than $70 billion in 2020, putting his net worth at an estimated $77.8 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. He is now the world’s 11th richest person after Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Although Ambani may have lost the top spot in Asia, he’s not far behind: the Reliance Industries chairman is still worth $76.9 billion.
The 66-year-old billionaire is known as the “Lone Wolf” because he is not involved in politics or business. He rarely makes public appearances or speaks to the media.
Bloomberg reports that the sources of Shanshan’s wealth are his roles as chairman at two major companies: bottled water maker Nongfu Spring and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which makes vaccines and hepatitis test-kits. Nongfu Spring reported $3.5 billion in revenue in 2019, while the pharmacy enterprise reported revenue of $171 million.
It is one of the fastest accumulations of wealth in history, and all the more remarkable considering that until this year he was little known outside China.
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His pharmacy company is among those developing a Covid-19 vaccine. Shanshan had an interesting career spanning journalism, mushroom farming and health care before venturing into bottled water business.
