Hangzhou, February 25 (Xi Jinyan) On the 25th, Wahaha Group released an obituary, Comrade Zong Qinghou, founder and chairman of Wahaha Group, passed away at 10:30 on February 25, 2024, at the age of 79.
Obituary. Zong Qinghou was born in 1945 and is a benchmark figure in the Zhejiang business group. According to the book "Oral History of the 40 Years of Reform and Opening-up in Zhejiang", according to Zong Qinghou's recollection, after graduating from junior high school at the age of 17, he worked in Zhoushan Mamu Farm and Shaoxing Tea Farm for 14 years. In 1978, my mother retired early and returned to Hangzhou as a worker.
In 1987, Zong Qinghou, who was already 42 years old, borrowed 140,000 yuan (RMB, the same below) to contract and operate the predecessor of Wahaha, the school-run enterprise distribution department in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou. The story is familiar, because of its proximity to the market, Wahaha Children's Oral Liquid was launched in 1988, thus digging the first pot of gold in the market.
Since then, Zong Qinghou has created a large number of well-known beverage brands, including Wahaha purified water and AD calcium milk. In 2010, Zong Qinghou became the richest man in China by Forbes with a value of 53.4 billion yuan, and then became the richest man in Chinese mainland several times.
We have always believed that true wealth is not material wealth, but spiritual abundance. As one of the few first-generation Zhejiang businessmen still running on the front line, Zong Qinghou previously said in an interview with a reporter from China News Service that he still has a lot to do. And now, his figure is forever fixed in this coming spring.
It is reported that the funeral committee of Comrade Zong Qinghou of Hangzhou Wahaha Group is scheduled to hold a memorial service at 10 a.m. on February 28 at the Xiasha base of Hangzhou Wahaha Group. (ENDS).
*: China News Network.