Zhong Shanshan Responds to Comparisons with Elon Musk and Status in China's Business World

TapTechNews August 11th news, on August 10th, the interview of Zhong Shanshan, the founder and chairman of Nongfu Spring Co., Ltd., was aired on the CCTV program Dialogue. In the program, Zhong Shanshan responded to some external doubts.

For example, some people think he is rather weak compared to the US richest man Elon Musk, and Zhong Shanshan thinks the evaluation is quite fair. He proposed that the two cannot be compared as social evaluations, but as the richest men, the social responsibility can be compared, because wealth itself has social responsibility.

Zhong Shanshan said:

Elon Musk's path is to create the boundaries of technology, but my experience is that of a farmer, and my experience is that I will think more about farmers. I said that within the scope of my knowledge, I can do things. Although what Elon Musk has done is extremely earth-shattering, I'm not that great. But I feel that as a Chinese entrepreneur, I have my own pride, I have solved the problem that Americans haven't solved, and I have maintained the normal income of farmers, which is what I can contribute, so I will also be proud of myself.

Zhong Shanshan added:

Elon Musk has done these earth-shattering things, and I'm not that earth-shattering, but I have also done some things that suit me. I am originally a farmer, so I have a special affection for farmers. You have to admit that farmers are stronger than you. I have been considering agricultural issues.

TapTechNews noted that Zhong Shanshan topped the Hurun Rich List for three consecutive years in 2021, 2022, and 2023 (not yet announced in 2024), and according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Huang Zheng, the 44-year-old founder of Pinduoduo, has become the richest man in China - he has a wealth of 48.6 billion US dollars (about 348.806 billion yuan) and has replaced Zhong Shanshan, the king of bottled water who has held the top position since April 2021 (47.4 billion US dollars, currently about 340.194 billion yuan).