China’s richest man Zong Qinghou says wealth gap not a priority

China’s yawning divide between rich and poor does not need to be tackled, the country’s richest person said on Wednesday – as long as everyone can become wealthy.

“We don’t need to solve the problem of the rich-poor gap, we need to solve the problem of common prosperity,” said Zong Qinghou, whose family fortune is estimated at US$12.6 billion.

Zong, founder of a huge soft-drinks conglomerate that has branched out into baby milk and children’s clothing, said that “rich people should help everyone to become prosperous”.

“If everyone is wealthy, society will be harmonious, and more comfortable,” the 67-year old entrepreneur told reporters in Beijing at an event to mark the launch of a series of high-end shopping malls.

Zong only went into business in his 40s, selling fizzy drinks to children and reportedly being so short of cash that he slept under a bridge in Beijing because he could not afford a hotel.

But the company he launched, Wahaha, whose name means “Laughing Child” in Chinese, went on to become China’s third largest soft drinks company, according to Euromonitor International.

Zong’s fortune, as estimated by China-based luxury magazine publisher the Hurun Report, makes him the richest person in China and one of the wealthiest in Asia.