Reporter Mao Ning.
Recently, China's richest man Zhong Sui and his subsidiary Nongfu Spring have been on the hot list. On March 7, Nongfu Spring responded to the heated discussion among netizens about its Oriental leaf packaging. According to Zhongxin Jingwei news, Nongfu Spring's customer service responded on the same day that the architectural pattern on the label of green tea products is an artistic creation based on the architectural image of Chinese temples. In addition, the customer service also said that the label identification text of the Oriental Leaf Original Tea Beverage Green Tea Product has been described and demonstrated in many literatures, and the content is true and the source is clear, aiming to show the influence of Chinese tea and tea culture on the world and show national self-confidence.
The reporter of "Investment Express" noticed that after the death of Zong Qinghou, the founder of Wahaha, Nongfu Spring and the founder, chairman and general manager Zhong Sui fell into the whirlpool. Some people said that Zhong Sui was Wahaha's first businessman in Hainan in his early years, and was fired for reselling goods, and after seeking the "first pot of gold", he turned to establish Nongfu Spring Company; Another self-claimed that the success of Nongfu Spring is by slandering the old club, when Zhong said that there is almost nothing in pure water, which is not good for human health, and instead created the concept of mineral water containing trace elements and vigorously promoted, which caused a serious blow to the pure water market dominated by Wahaha, with the advertising slogan of "nature's porter", Nongfu Spring quickly occupied the drinking water market, and Zhong Sui became the richest man in China.
On the evening of March 3, Nongfu Spring's official Weibo released the article "Zhong Sui: I Have Three Things with Zong Lao", and the founder of Nongfu Spring, Zhong Sui, said that after Zong Qinghou's death, there were a lot of slanders against him and Nongfu Spring on the Internet, which was by no means what Zong Qinghou was happy to see. Zhong said: "The cloth business is the first pot of gold I got from starting a business, not the rumor on the Internet that 'the first entrepreneurial income comes from Wahaha'." He also pointed out that it was rumored on the Internet that he violated the rules during the sale of Wahaha, which was a misunderstanding caused by a joke, and he himself "never received a salary in Wahaha, let alone was fired for rushing goods".
As of the time of press release of the "Investment Express" reporter, Nongfu Spring (09633HK) reported 4185 yuan, with a total market value of 470.7 billion yuan. The relevant list shows that since 2021, Zhong has become the richest man in China for three consecutive years. According to the Hurun Report 2023, his net worth exceeds 450 billion yuan.