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Water seller becomes China's richest man

Richest Man - Level 0

The magazine Bloomberg has named Mr Zhong Shanshan as China's richest man. He is worth $58 billion. He is $2 billion richer than the previous number one. Mr Zhong made his money from his bottled water company. He also makes vaccines. Zhong is 17th on the global rich list. He might move up that list in the future.

Zhong Shanshan, 66, started his water company in 1996. This is when China's bottled water market started. It is big business in China. Most people prefer bottled water to tap water. Zhong's vaccine company is making a vaccine to fight COVID-19. China's media call Mr Zhong a "lone wolf". He is rarely seen in public.

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Richest Man - Level 1

The magazine Bloomberg has named Mr Zhong Shanshan as China's richest man. The magazine said he is worth over $58 billion. He is $2 billion richer than the previous number one, Jack Ma, who is boss of the Internet giant Alibaba. Mr Zhong made his money from his Nongfu Spring bottled water company. He also makes vaccines. He is now 17th on the global rich list. He might move up that list in the future.

Zhong Shanshan, 66, was once a builder. He started his water company in 1996, just as China's market for bottled water started. Bottled water is a big industry in China. Most people prefer bottled water to tap water. Zhong's vaccine company is helping to fight against COVID-19. It is making a vaccine with the help of university researchers. Chinese media call Mr Zhong a "lone wolf" because he is rarely seen in public. He likes to keep himself to himself.

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Richest Man - Level 2

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A businessman is now the richest man in China. The magazine Bloomberg's Billionaires Index named Mr Zhong Shanshan as China's richest man. The magazine said Mr Zhong is worth over $58 billion. He is $2 billion richer than the previous number one, Jack Ma. Mr Ma is the boss of the Internet giant Alibaba. Mr Zhong made his money from his Nongfu Spring bottled water company. He also makes vaccines. He is the chairman of a vaccine manufacturer. Mr Zhong is now 17th on the global rich list. It seems that he will move up that list in the future.

Zhong Shanshan, 66, was once a construction worker. He started his water company in 1996, just as China's market for bottled water was emerging. Bottled water is now a big industry in China. Most people who live in China prefer bottled water to tap water for health reasons. Zhong's vaccine company is helping in the fight against COVID-19. It is developing a spray vaccine with the help of researchers from a top university. Chinese media call Mr Zhong a "lone wolf" because he is rarely seen in public. He rarely gives interviews and he likes to keep himself to himself.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Richest Man - Level 3

A businessman who sells bottled water is now the richest man in China. The business magazine Bloomberg named Mr Zhong Shanshan as China's richest man in its latest Billionaires Index. The magazine said Mr Zhong is worth over $58 billion. This makes him $2 billion richer than the previous number one, Jack Ma. Mr Ma founded the retail Internet giant Alibaba. Mr Zhong made his wealth from his Nongfu Spring bottled water company. He then branched out into making vaccines. He is the chairman of a vaccine manufacturer called the Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy. Mr Zhong is now 17th on the global rich list. It seems that he will move up that list in the future.

Zhong Shanshan, 66, was a construction worker before he got into business. He started his Nongfu Spring company in 1996. This was just as China's market for bottled water was emerging. Bottled water is now a huge industry in China. Most people who live in China prefer drinking bottled water to tap water for health reasons. They prefer not to trust tap water. Zhong's pharmaceutical company is also helping in the fight against COVID-19. It is developing a nasal-spray vaccine with the help of researchers from a top university. Chinese media call Mr Zhong a "lone wolf" because he is rarely seen in public. He rarely gives interviews and he likes to keep himself to himself.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson