REUTERS
Zhong Shanshan, a secretive billionaire who made his fortune by producing the single-use plastic water bottles that frequently wind up on the planet’s beaches and in its water supplies, became the richest man in Asia and seventh-richest man in the world on Friday, according to “rich list” aggregator Hurun Report. The “Lone Wolf” Zhong, who rarely makes public appearances, dropped out of school at age 12 during China’s Cultural Revolution and worked as a carpenter, news reporter, and bricklayer at various times. Founded in 1996, his company Nongfu Spring holds about a quarter of the market in China, where bottled water is more popular than tap. He also owns a pharma company called Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which saw a spike in revenue from producing COVID-19 testing kits. Zhong’s net worth surged over the past year to $85 billion, edging out Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Read it at Yahoo News.