China Speakers Bureau: China's rich in global top in 15 yrs

by Fantake via Flickr

China's billionaires keep on collecting more wealth and the Hurun founder, Rupert Hoogewerf, the China rich list, expects them to reach the global top in 15 years, when the economy keeps on growing, he tells the People's Daily.
The newspaper focuses on Zong Qinghou, the owner of the wildly successful Wahaha group, China's leading soft drinks producer.

The richest man in China is Zong Qinghou, who runs the multi-billion-dollar soft drink firm Wahaha Group. Zong is ranked 103rd on the list with an estimated wealth of around $7 billion. Not only has he nearly tripled his wealth from $1.9 billion in 2008, he has also improved his standing from 376th earlier.

Plain-suited Zong, who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), told China Daily on the sidelines of the ongoing session that he was not surprised at his ranking considering that his company has been extremely profitable in recent times.

Rupert Hoogewerf, the British founder of Hurun rich report, said Zong's ranking does not come as a surprise. "Wahaha means 'laughing children' in Chinese and is one of the most valuable brands in the country. The self-made billionaire has always been focused on being the leader in the beverage segment ever since he started his firm in 1987," he said.