Asia's new richest person is a Chinese vaccine investor who made $70 billion in 2020

[beijingwalker]

Asia's new richest person is a Chinese vaccine investor who made $70 billion in 2020
Katie Warren
December 31 2020

• Chinese billionaire Zhong Shanshan made more than $70 billion in 2020 to become the new richest person in Asia, Richard Macauley and Venus Feng reported for Bloomberg.
• Shanshan's net worth is estimated at $77.8 billion, making him the 11th-richest person in the world right behind Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.
• The 66-year-old billionaire has dethroned Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, who's worth $76.9 billion, as Asia's richest man.
• Shanshan is the chairman of both bottled water company Nongfu Spring and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise. Together, the two companies reported more than $3.6 billion in revenue in 2019.
• He's known as the "Lone Wolf" and rarely makes public appearances or speaks to the media.

Mukesh Ambani's two-year reign as Asia's richest person has come to an end.

Chinese bottled water billionaire and vaccine investor Zhong Shanshan has surpassed the Indian businessman to become the continent's wealthiest man, Bloomberg reported.

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's now the world's 11th-richest person after Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. And while 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 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 Shanshan's pharmacy enterprise reported revenue of $171 million, per Bloomberg.


In 2020, Shanshan's net worth skyrocketed as he took both of his companies public. Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in April, and Nongfu Spring's $1.1 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong in September made Shanshan China's third-richest person overnight.

The 66-year-old billionaire is known as the "Lone Wolf" because he's not involved in politics or business groups, per Bloomberg. He rarely makes public appearances or speaks to the media, according to Chinese publication The Paper.

"I am a solitary person, and I don't care what my colleagues are doing or thinking," Shanshan once said, according to the Paper.

Born in 1954 in Hangzhou, Shanshan attended the Open University of China and worked as a newspaper reporter in the 1980s before founding pharmaceutical company Yangshengtang Co., Ltd. In 1996, he founded Nongfu Spring and today directly manages the company's sales, branding, and human resources as executive chairman, according to his corporate biography.


While he may now have been edged out of the top spot by Shanshan, Ambani is still the 12th-richest person in the world. In 2020, his fortune grew by more than $18 billion as he secured a $5.7 billion investment from Facebook in his mobile telecom service and a $775 million investment from American private equity firm KKR. Briefly, in August 2020, Ambani was the world's fourth richest person.

Representatives from Shanshan's companies and Ambani's company did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment for this story.

Asia's new richest person is a Chinese vaccine investor who made $70 billion in 2020, surpassing Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani

Zhong Shanshan, known as the "Lone Wolf," took both his bottled water company and his vaccine company public in 2020.

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[Bouncer]

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's now the world's 11th-richest person after Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

More than $77 Billion and he is still at number 11 in the list.

 

[beijingwalker]

More than $77 Billion and he is still at number 11 in the list.

China just started to have billionaires over a decade or so, all of them just got this rich in less than 2 decades, hofefully China can still manage to distribute the wealth evenly among the population, India and US are never good examples to follow.

 

[jamahir]

How can a Communist country have rich, middle class and poor ?

 

[beijingwalker]

How can a Communist country have rich, middle class and poor ?

Socialism with Chinese characterisitcs, heavily taxing rich people to pay for the poor.

 

[KurtisBrian]

How can a Communist country have rich, middle class and poor ?

Obviously, China is fascist. It uses the communist name to keep citizens believing they are owners when actually they are servants. Probably wouldn't matter, since the Chinese just want better lives like most people.
free people don't beg for jobs and loans, servants do.
and the meek shall inherit the Earth. Those who worship money will be wiped out. All part of the plan.

 

[Indos]

How can a Communist country have rich, middle class and poor ?

Having a rich people is normal, they are needed for the society, but this guy is supeeeeerrrrrr riccchhhhh

 

[Mirzali Khan]

Ok, that is A LOT of money. His next 4 generations will be good.

 

[jamahir]

Socialism with Chinese characterisitcs, heavily taxing rich people to pay for the poor.

But there was a thread some days ago about Chinese poor unable to afford high-quality medical treatments in China ( it should have been free ) and so coming to India to avail of India's medical tourism industry which these Chinese find relatively cheaper and also I suppose having less queues of patients.

What kind of Socialism is this ?

It uses the communist name to keep citizens believing they are owners when actually they are servants.

Yeah, the Chinese middle class seems satisfied with the ability to purchase private cars for personal transport and doesn't think too deep on ideological matters.

Having a rich people is normal, they are needed for the society,

How ?

 

[jamahir]

Ever read Life of Pi?

No.

 

[ToddBing]

How can a Communist country have rich, middle class and poor ?

First,China is not a communist country,it's a socialist country,just like India declared in it's constitution.
Second, how can a country boasting democracy and freedom allow caste system in nowadays?
I think this should not happen even in a civilized country.

 

[jamahir]

First,China is not a communist country,it's a socialist country

1. What does that mean according to you ?

2. Socialist countries like USSR and Libya provided free healthcare. Another socialist country Venezuela, since Hugo Chavez, provides free to little-cost healthcare.

just like India declared in it's constitution.

Yes, I agree that that part of the declaration has not been carried out in practice and I as a communist don't like this situation.

Second, how can a country boasting democracy and freedom allow caste system in nowadays?
I this this should not happen even in a civilized country.

You are right, the caste system is against human rights and socio-economic harmony and should be eradicated and that can be fully done through a communist India.

And India at the moment is a Parliamentary Democracy which is not true democracy at all. This is the same as USA, Britain, France, Pakistan etc.

True democracy is Direct Democracy guided by Socialism / Communism like was in Libya until 2011. Direct rule of the people, without the Party System whether single, two or multi.

 

[ToddBing]

1. What does that mean according to you ?

Communism is a target, not a process.
To get this target, the first thing is developing you economy. without a strong economy,communism is just empty talk.

Understand now?

 

[jamahir]

Communism is a target, not a process.
To get this target, the first thing is developing you economy.
Understand now?

Sure, Communism is a target but what is China doing to achieve that state ? How are very Capitalist things like maintaining stock exchanges, high-priced housing and non-free healthcare helping you achieve that ? And also maintaining a party system. So you want to become Communist by being Capitalist ?

There are things that other socialist countries did or are doing that China is not doing.

Read this thread of mine about my proposal for how a communist economic system can be realized.

 

[ToddBing]

Sure, Communism is a target but what is China doing to achieve that state ? How are very Capitalist things like maintaining stock exchanges, high-priced housing and non-free healthcare helping you achieve that ? And also maintaining a party system.

There are things that other socialist countries did or are doing that China is not doing.

Read this thread of mine about my proposal for how a communist economic system can be realized.

Like I said before,developing economy.
India has a free healthcare system,but how did it worked? in 2018, 1.3% of India's GDP was spent public health,meanwhile in China,it's 6.6%.