Zhong Shansha has become Asia’s richest person, surpassing Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and China’s richest man, Jack Ma of Alibaba.  

Chinese businessman Zhong’s net worth has increased from $ 70.9 billion to $ 77.8 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 11th-richest person in the world. 

Check out the list of Asia’s top five richest people with their net worth as of 23 December 2020 according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

Name  

Net Worth

( in Billions) 

Companies 
Zhong Shanshan  $ 77.8  Nongfu, Wantai 
Mukesh Ambani  $ 76.9  Reliance Industries 
Colin Huang  $ 63.1  Pinduoduo 
Pony Ma  $ 56.0  Tencent 
Jack Ma   $ 51.2  Alibaba, Ant  

 

The 66-year-old Zhong is a private billionaire who is rarely discussed in the media. He is neither involved in politics nor he has family business like other rich families, that is why he is known as the lone wolf in China.  

Until this year, very few people knew about him outside China. 

After trying his career in journalism, mushroom farming and healthcare, Shanshan started his own business and got a huge success in two businesses such as bottled water and corona vaccine. 

  • In April 2020, he took his pharma company Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.  
  • In September 2020, Zhong’s bottled water company, Nongfu Spring, listed its shares in Hong Kong.  

Since then, Nongfu shares have surged 155 percent and shares of Wantai Biological Pharmacy have surged more than 2000 percent according to Bloomberg. Nongfu stock also surged a record high this week after Citigroup Inc. analysts said Nongfu has solid market dominance and ample cash flow. Wantai Biological Pharmacy is also developing a Covid-19 vaccine. 

Meanwhile, billionaire Mukesh Ambani slipped from first to the second spot in the list of Asia’s richest person despite striking deals with big tech companies like Google and Facebook. 

This year Ambani’s net worth has surged from $18.3 billion to $76.9 billion. But his company Reliance Industries’ shares fell as he came under pressure to bring in the digital transformation he promised. 

Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma’s net worth tumbled to $51.2 billion from a high of $61.7 billion in October.