Meet Zong Fuli, China’s most eligible bachelorette and the billionaire heiress of Wahaha beverage empire
Unlike scions of other wealthy Chinese families, the US-educated daughter of Zong Qinghou, founder of China’s biggest beverage brand, is active in business and philanthropy while her search for love continues
Zong Fuli is the daughter of Zong Qinghou, founder and CEO of China’s biggest beverage brand, Wahaha. She is the successor and only heiress of Wahaha Group with a total sales of 47 billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) in 2019 and has also broken the stereotype of being fuerdai, or second-generation rich.
In 2015, Zong was ranked third in Asia’s top 10 richest with a net worth of US$3 billion. Most recently in May, she was also on the list of the 30 most influential business women in China 2020.
Earning the respect and trust of her employees, Zong is not only heiress to the billion-dollar fortune but also an inventive entrepreneur. Here are some key things to know about her.
She spent her teenage years alone in the US
Zong is the only child of Zong Qinghou and left for the US to pursue her education when she was just 14. She had spent her teenage years in San Marino High School and later majored in international business at Pepperdine University, in Malibu. It was at that time Wahaha Group emerged as the biggest beverage company in China.
After graduation, Zong returned to China when she was 22 years old, joining the family business a year later in 2005.
She started from the bottom
Zong was not given the most prestigious job when she entered her father’s company. She began as the assistant director of the management committee at the company’s base in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou. Later, she became the deputy director of the management committee and then the general manager of Hangzhou Wahaha Children’s Clothing Company.
By 2007, she established the Hongsheng Beverage Group and earned the respect of her employees. They said she was the first to arrive and last to leave. Through her hard work and dedication, the company has grown into an industry-wide chain and service provider which focuses on the F&B industry.