Wu is chairman of Hubei Jing Brand, China's largest producer of herbal spirits. The Daye, China-based company was founded as a state-owned liquor manufacturer in 1953. It became closely held when Wu bought it from the local government in 1998. The company reported revenue of 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2017.
Wu Shaoxun's net worth of $5.64B can buy ...
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The bulk of Wu's fortune is derived from Hubei Jing Brand, the largest herbal liquor maker in China, according to its website. He owns 99 percent of the company, according to company filings.
The company had revenue of 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2017, according to the company's social responsibility report on the website. It's valued using the average enterprise value-to-sales and price-to-earnings multiples of three publicly traded peer companies: Anhui Gujing Distillery, Xinjiang Yilite Industry and Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery.
The valuation was updated on Oct. 11, 2018 to reflect 2017 financials and this led to an increase in the calculation of about $700 million.
The company didn't reply to emails and telephone calls seeking comment on the billionaire's net worth.
Wu Shaoxun was born in China's central province of Hubei in 1956. At the age of 18, he joined the Chinese army and served for six years. After being discharged, Wu joined a state-owned spinning mill in his hometown of Daye and later became responsible for running the company.
A two-year stint studying at a local Communist Party school led to Wu being made chief of a heavily indebted state-owned spirit maker in 1987, despite knowing nothing about liquor manufacturing. Still, under his management the business became profitable. After introducing Chinese herbal medicines into its liquor, the company's signature product, Jing Liquor, became a popular drink among Chinese consumers.
When China started to reform its state-owned companies, Wu borrowed money to buy the business from Hubei's local government, accumulating a 99 percent stake, according to a government website.
Today the company has the largest market share in China's herbal liquor sector, selling more than 800 million bottles of spirits every year with revenue of 9.2 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) in 2016, according to its website.