Zong Qinghou is a Chinese entrepreneur who has an estimated net worth of $7.15 billion in March 2017, according to Bloomberg. He is one of the biggest gainers among the world’s billionaires with an increase of 75% in his net worth a year ago. He currently chairs Wahaha, a privately held top homegrown beverage company in the country. It is the fast growing producer of a mix of bottled water, teas, and other ready-to-drink concoctions. Last year, it had a reported pretax profit of $1.6 billion, an 18% increase with the lower cost for ingredients.

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Born in October 1945 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, he had little formal education. After finishing secondary school, he worked at the Zhoushan salt farm, near his mother’s home. He also began selling milk to a mini-grocery in Shangcheng District in 1987. His business has grown to sell soda, office supplies and ice. It later became the Wahaha Group, the largest and most successful beverage supplier. The company entered into a joint venture with Group Danone, which involved the inward investment of $70 million in five joint venture companies in exchange for a 51% Groupe Danone ownership in each company. However, he was accused of “operating parallel companies” that he resigned as chairman of the joint venture in 2007.