[News Figures] How Did China's 'Bottled Water King' Zhong Shanshan Become the Country's Richest Man?

'National Mineral Water' Nongpuspring Founder
Maintains No.1 Wealth Rank in China for 3 Consecutive Years Post-IPO
Grows as a Natural Water Brand... Focuses on Marketing
Reclusive CEO... Often Eats Alone in Cafeteria

There is a self-made individual who became China's richest person and ranked among the world's top 20 billionaires by selling bottled water with a red cap and label for just 2 yuan (about 370 won). Zhong Shanshan, chairman of Nongfu Spring (Nongfu Shanquan), known as the 'Water King,' built a bottled water empire by drawing water from the vast Chinese mainland.

Bloomberg recently reported, "China's richest person made billions of bottles of uncontaminated clean water," focusing on how he created and grew China's bottled water and beverage company, Nongfu Spring.

Jungsan-san, Chairman of Nongpuspring (Photo by Nongpuspring website)

Chairman Zhong Shanshan is currently China's richest person. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of the 2nd, his assets amount to $62.4 billion (about 83.2 trillion won), ranking him 20th in the world. Following him are Zhang Yiming (25th), co-founder of ByteDance, the parent company of the social media platform TikTok, and Huang Zheng, former chairman and founder of Chinese e-commerce company Pinduoduo (32nd).

Hurun Report, known as the 'Forbes of China,' which annually surveys the wealth rankings of Chinese entrepreneurs, announced on the 24th of last month the rankings of 1,241 entrepreneurs with personal assets exceeding 5 billion yuan (about 920 billion won). It reported that Zhong Shanshan recorded assets of 450 billion yuan, securing the top spot as China's richest person for three consecutive years.

Born in 1954, Zhong Shanshan, a former journalist turned entrepreneur, was born in a small rural village in Zhejiang Province, China, and grew up during the Cultural Revolution. Due to poverty, he had to quit school and work. After struggling to enter university, he began his career at the state-owned Zhejiang Daily newspaper. He resigned in 1985 and started a business, but his initial ventures were not very successful.

However, in 1993, he succeeded with a company selling various nutritional supplements. The funds and experience gained at this time laid the foundation for Zhong Shanshan to establish Nongfu Spring in 1996. Unlike other bottled water companies in China at the time, Nongfu Spring promoted natural mineral water as its product, emphasizing its health benefits. It also positioned its brand as connecting consumers with nature through water and built a bottled water supply network across China.

Nongfu Spring's business model coincided with the increasing demand for clean drinking water in China. According to market research firm Euromonitor International, China is currently the world's largest bottled water consumer. Its sales growth rate is expected to surpass that of the U.S. and Western Europe over the next two years. The Chinese government advises against drinking tap water directly, so many Chinese households purchase bottled water for drinking.

Nongpuspring product line (Photo by Nongpuspring website)

Under Zhong Shanshan's direction, Nongfu Spring also launched premium new products such as water for children produced only on sterile production lines and water for tea that maintains optimal acidity.

Marketing was particularly important to Zhong Shanshan during this process. He emphasized the importance of corporate reputation in business. Even now, he personally intervenes in marketing efforts, provides feedback, and demands 'perfection' from employees. It is said that he even scrapped projects just before their public launch.

Zhong Shanshan did not always have smooth sailing while growing Nongfu Spring. In 2010, competitors accused Nongfu Spring's claim that "natural mineral water is good for health" of being false advertising. This led to years of legal battles over Nongfu Spring's product quality.

Reluctant to appear in public, Zhong Shanshan held a press conference himself to drink Nongfu Spring's water and directly refute the criticism, launching a promotional campaign with various experimental results. Bloomberg reported, "Although Zhong Shanshan paid a fine of 200,000 yuan at the time, even more consumers purchased Nongfu Spring's products, resulting in a greater victory."

Having grown this way, Nongfu Spring was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2020. Listed at 35 Hong Kong dollars, Nongfu Spring's stock price rose above 66 Hong Kong dollars in January 2021, then fluctuated around the 40-dollar range. Thanks to Nongfu Spring's successful listing, Zhong Shanshan became China's richest person in 2020 and has maintained that position since.

Despite gaining enormous wealth and attention, he is a 'reclusive manager' who avoids public appearances. Chinese media describe him as a 'lone wolf' who often makes important decisions alone. He reportedly appears in the company cafeteria wearing a T-shirt and sneakers, eating alone like an ordinary employee.

Nongfu Spring, which owns water sources across China, now faces the global issue of climate change. In 2019, Nongfu Spring reportedly drew enough water from 10 water sources in China to fill 13,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Since then, it has added two more water sources and is currently developing a third, while also seeking new water sources in New Zealand and Tibet. Environmental groups have criticized this, saying the environmental destruction is severe and questioning, "Why are water resources being used for someone's wealth accumulation?"