Zong Qinghou, the founder of China’s soft drinks giant Hangzhou Wahaha Group, died on Feb. 25, 2024. The self-made billionaire, who was once China’s richest man, died of an illness on Sunday at the age of 79, his company said in a brief statement.
In China, Zong was known as a legendary businessman who grew his soft drinks empire from a tricycle cart (三轮车) selling ice pops to school kids into a large company selling everything from milk drinks to bottled water and canned porridge. Zong was also praised as a national hero for wrestling full control of Wahaha, which means “laughing child”, from its French partner Danone (法国达能集团) more than a decade ago. Victory in that bitter battle boosted Zong’s wealth to $8 billion, making him China’s richest man in 2010 and again in 2012, according to Forbes.
His death was mourned across China. Condolences (吊唁) poured in from prominent Chinese entrepreneurs including Alibaba (BABA) co-founder Jack Ma and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. Wahaha employees and residents in the eastern city of Hangzhou laid flowers outside the company.
Despite his wealth, Zong was known for his frugal lifestyle. He was nicknamed “the richest man in cloth shoes” for always wearing plain black shoes, complete with a dark jacket and casual pants. In an interview with the state-run People’s Daily in 2010, Zong said the title had brought little change to his life. “Every day, I still smoke two packs of cigarettes that cost 12 yuan (then $1.80) each, have two cups of tea, and eat my three meals at the company canteen,” he said. He was known for starting work around 7 am and not leaving the office until 11 pm, working for more than 12 hours a day long before the exhausting “996” work schedule became commonplace. 996 refers to working 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week.
Zong is survived by his wife and his daughter, Zong Fuli, who has long been trained as his successor.
分享本文十五分钟后截图给客服，获赠“阅读理解高频同义转换词”电子版！
奇速英语 原创编写 版权所有 侵权必究！ 每日更新 个性化阅读 英语飙升！
13980503458
13980503458
admin@qisuen.cn
