Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha, passed away at 10:30 on February 25, 2024 at the age of 79.
Many entrepreneurs mourned Zong Qinghou.
Lei Jun, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, posted twice on Weibo to mourn Zong Qinghou:
Zhou Hongyi mourned Zong Qinghou:
I hope that Mr. Zong's spirit will continue to encourage more entrepreneurs in China to work together.
In the afternoon, many Hangzhou citizens went to the Wahaha headquarters on Qingtai Street in Shangcheng District to pay respects, lay flowers and bow to express their gratitude and nostalgia for him.
There are many handfuls of flowers placed in front of the gate, and there are also elegiac couplets.
Each has its name written on it, and the other has Mr. Zong's name written on it.
There are also flower donors who write on pieces of paper:
Come on, Wahaha, the pride of Hangzhou people. ”
May Zong always be happy and safe in heaven. ”
It seems that the payment is an employee of Wahaha's original marketing department.
There are also people who brought a few bottles of Wahaha AD calcium milk and placed them at the door.
The people of Hangzhou have feelings for Zong Qinghou, many citizens can't help crying, and an old man said excitedly: "I ...... who want to cry when I talk about it."
A boy put down a bouquet of white chrysanthemums and bowed three times.
He said that his first job after graduation was in Wahaha, "The interview was on the second floor of this building, but I didn't expect to come back to say goodbye to Mr. Zong." ”
A citizen said:
Her child and Zong Qinghou's daughter are classmates, Zong Qinghou is also from Hangzhou, he is a good person, and there is no way to get sick at such an age. We all know his previous entrepreneurial experience, it was quite hard, and then he slowly got better.
Many people grew up drinking Wahaha after Zong Qing, Zong Qing has been struggling at the last moment, and he has not rested when he is sick, so he has gone through his life like this.
Zong Qinghou's wealth is as high as 100 billion, as a business CEO, he has worked hard all his life and insisted on working for more than ten hours a day for many years.
Zong Qinghou deserves everyone's respect in many aspects, he lives a very frugal life, personal consumption does not exceed 50,000 yuan a year, he wears cloth shoes all year round, and does not hire bodyguards.
Zong Qinghou is a great entrepreneur who has become the richest man in China three times, but the company is not listed, does not cut leeks in A-shares, does not lay off employees over 45 years old, and has been making products in a down-to-earth manner.
Zong Qinghou has managed the company for so many years, and he has hardly heard negative reports about product quality problems, which is also very worthy of admiration.
Zong Qinghou started from scratch in his 42s, pedaled a single wheel, sold popsicles, and worked as a salesman.
In the first year of entrepreneurship, I earned 100,000 yuan, and a box of popsicles only sold for four yuan.
In 1990, Zong Qinghou traveled to 38 primary schools, spending 5.7 million yuan to improve teachers' salaries and repair school buildings, while his own corporate office was simple and crowded.
Zong Qinghou was interviewed by Dong Qing, and Dong Qing asked Zong Qinghou about his marriage:
You went to the countryside at the age of seventeen, have been in the countryside for fifteen years, and are you still single and can't find a girlfriend?
Zong Qinghou said: At that time, the income was too low, and I couldn't eat enough and wear no warmth, so how could I raise a wife and a child?
Another consideration is that I still want to go back to work for my mother, so I didn't look for a girlfriend.
In fact, at that time, I was very handsome, and there were a lot of girls who liked me.
Unexpectedly, after Zong Qinghou returned to the city, he took over his mother's position as a teacher, but the principal thought that he had a low education and sent him to work in a school-run factory.
Shi Youzhen, like Zong Qinghou, is also an older young woman, who went to the countryside and worked as an educated youth in the Heilongjiang Construction Corps, and after returning to the city in 1978, she was arranged to work in the commercial sector of Hangzhou.
The two went on a blind date, but it was love at first sight and entered the marriage hall on May 1, 1980.
On January 15, 1982, her daughter Zong Fuli was born.
In 1987, Zong Qinghou was 42 years old before starting his own business.
After Zong Fuli came back from studying abroad, she started from the grassroots level.
But later when he took power, he stopped Leehom Wang's endorsement when he came to power, on the grounds that Wahaha needs a younger and fashionable face.
Wang Leehom received this advertisement, and he has not increased his endorsement fee for 20 years.
In the end, Zong Qinghou went all the way, and Zong Fuli managed Wahaha to create brilliance again.