In 2023, with a net worth of $68 billion, Zhong will rank 15th on the world's richest list, firmly sitting on the throne of China's richest man. He was born in 1954 in Hangzhou, China.
In 1978, this 24-year-old young man entered Zhejiang Radio and Telecommunications
Depending on the entrance of the university, I studied Chinese language and literature (which belongs to adult higher education).
In 1983, at the age of 29, he followed in his father's footsteps and stepped into the Zhejiang Radio and Television System (his father held a deputy department-level position in the Zhejiang Cultural System, Zhong's uncle was a ministerial-level senior official, and his cousin was the deputy commander of the Navy). He worked for the Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Jiangnan Magazine, and later as a reporter in the rural department of Zhejiang Daily.
In 1988, when Hainan became a test field for reform and opening up, many young people with dreams flocked to this hot land to start a business. Zhong also resolutely resigned from public office and embarked on the road of doing business in Hainan.
Between 1988 and 1990, he tried his hand at mushroom farming, selling curtains, and farming prawns, but unfortunately none of these attempts brought him a significant income.
In 1990, with his father's network resources, he successfully obtained the general agency of Wahaha in Hainan (Wahaha is a well-known enterprise from Hangzhou, which was popular in Hangzhou at that time. As a cadre of Hangzhou's cultural system, Zhong's father won this rare agency opportunity for Zhong).
In 1991, his business expanded further and became Wahaha's agent in Hainan and Guangxi. However, because he sold his products to the Guangdong market at a high price, he violated the regulations and was disqualified by Zong Qinghou (at that time, Hainan was a special zone and enjoyed preferential prices). Despite this, he still earned millions of dollars by acting as an agent for Wahaha products.
In 1993, following the example of Zong Qinghou and Shi Yuzhu, he founded Yangshengtang Company and successfully launched the "Yangshengtang Turtle and Turtle Pills" (the actual ingredients of which include sugar, vitamins and food gels). Through extensive publicity on CCTV, this product quickly became popular all over the country, bringing him hundreds of millions of yuan in income.
In 1996, with the increase of the same type of products on the market and the improvement of national scientific literacy, the sales of turtle and turtle pills began to decline. Faced with this challenge, he decisively turned to the development of new products, acquired Gandaohu Health Distillery, and began to enter the health wine market.
In 1997, he realized that selling wine was inefficient, so he decided to launch Qiandao Lake bottled water directly. Through large-scale publicity on national television, the advertising slogan "Nongfu Spring is a little sweet" was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the products focusing on the concept of health and health care quickly became popular all over the country.
In 2001, with its excellent marketing strategy, Nongfu Spring's annual sales exceeded 100 million yuan, becoming the company's main source of profit, and Zhong's wealth also exceeded 500 million yuan.
In 2004, he successively launched the "Farmer's Orchard" series, the "Scream" series, the "Vitamin Water", "Oriental Leaves" and "Tea π" and other beverage products, all of which achieved great market success.
In 2020, when Nongfu Spring was successfully listed, Zhong's fortune soared and he became the richest man in China (worth 360 billion yuan).
From 2020 to 2024, he has been the richest man in China for many years.