Zong Qinghou founded
娃哈哈 (Wahaha) in 1987 in Hangzhou, starting with a small school-sales company and building it into China's largest beverage group. He was repeatedly ranked Mainland China's richest person in the late 2000s and early 2010s and was known for a frugal personal lifestyle — flying economy, eating in the company canteen — despite his fortune. His death on 25 February 2024 at age 79 was front-page news; his daughter
宗馥莉 took over the chairmanship.
