Step aside, Mr Jack Ma.
Move along, Mr Ambani.
There’s a new Asia’s Richest Man in town, and he reportedly comes with a vaccine…
One which constitutes an alternative to all the other vaccines in the market.
Asia’s Richest Man
According to The Straits Times, Mr Zhong Shanshan has officially become Asia’s richest man, overtaking Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani and even rock star / Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
He’s also the 11th-richest person on Earth, with a reported net worth of US$77.8 billion (S$102.8 billion).
Meanwhile, Mr Ambani sits second with a net worth of S$101.6 billion. Mr Ma is at S$67.6 billion, down from S$81.5 billion last October.
It’s an incredible feat, considering how until last year, Mr Zhong was virtually unheard-of outside of China, while everyone knows who Jack Ma is.
And then 2020 occurred, and Mr Zhong’s fortune surged by a mind-boggling US$70.9 billion.
Wish the same could be said about the rest of us.
Mr Zhong, 66, has two unrelated fields to thank for his success.
Last April, he took Covid-19 vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise public.
The company’s shares have since jumped up more than 2,000 per cent.
And a few months later, Nongfu Spring, a bottled-water maker, turned into one of Hong Kong’s hottest listings.
Their shares jumped 155 per cent since their “debut”.
Truly, what a remarkable turn of events.
Vaccine
In September 2020, China announced that Phase 1 human testing of a Covid-19 nasal spray vaccine, that’s developed by researchers at Xiamen University, Hong Kong University, and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co, has been approved.
The spray acts an alternative to the injection method. Recent research has also suggested that a nasal vaccine may actually be more effective than an injection.
It reportedly aims to “promote a natural immune response to the coronavirus by combining the new virus’ spike proteins with a weakened flu virus”.
In November, it was announced that Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co Ltd will commence a mid-stage clinicial trial of the nasal vaccine.
Yes, in other words, the man became super wealthy even before his vaccine was approved for use.
Lone Wolf
So, who is Mr Zhong?
Born in 1954 in Hangzhou, Mr Zhong joined the Open University of China and became a newspaper reporter in the 1980s.
He went on to set up pharmaceutical company Yangshengtang Co Ltd, before founding Nongfu Spring in 1996.
As he’s not involved in politics or business groups, the billionaire became known as the “Lone Wolf”.
“I am a solitary person, and I don’t care what my colleagues are doing or thinking,” he once said.
In the meantime, please excuse me as I try to convince the world that I’ve a working COVID-19 vaccine.
Featured Image: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com
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