Chinese private billionaire Zhong Shanshan, with a net worth of $77.8 billion has become Asia’s richest man. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhong’s net worth has increased from $70.9 billion to $77.8 billion. Which makes him the 11th richest person in the world. With this India’s Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been replaced as Asia’s richest person by Zhong.
Zhong Shanshan is founder of China’s largest bottled water company Nongfu Spring and he took vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. public in April. Rise in Shanshan’s net worth is attributed to the listing of these two companies.
The journey was not easy for Zhong, popularly known as ‘Lone Wolf’. The 66-year-old man has worked as a construction worker, a newspaper reporter, drugmaker and beverage sales agent before starting his own business. Zhong has acquired the ranks as China’s tech companies have tumbled because of increased government scrutiny. He has escaped a group of Chinese tech titans including Jack Ma who is Alibaba’s founder and had previously been China’s richest person. His rise to the top in Asia is believed to be “one of the fastest” in history, before achieving this rank the was little known outside of China.
Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, 63, who earlier rose to the fourth spot on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, is now on the 12th slot with current net worth is $76.9 billion, down from nearly $90 billion earlier this year. With Zhong’s becoming Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani’s two-year reign as Asia’s richest person has come to an end.
