Reclusive Chinese water tycoon is now Asia's richest person

Zhong Shanshan's net worth has surged to US$85 billion and made him the seventh-richest person on the planet. - AFP

BEIJING (AFP) :Until recently, few people had even heard of the Chinese billionaire with a gruff reputation who built a fortune on China's seemingly unquenchable demand for his ubiquitous red-capped bottled water.

But reclusive Zhong Shanshan has become Asia's richest man following the stock listings last year of his Nongfu Spring mineral water and separate pharma company Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which has tapped into massive demand for Covid-19 test kits.