**China’s Beverage Tycoon Challenges Inheritance Rulings in Court**
China’s beverage industry tycoon and the new head of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, Kelly Zong, is seeking to appeal two inheritance-related rulings.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (August 19) that sources familiar with the case said Kelly Zong, who is embroiled in a family inheritance dispute, is appealing two court orders against her. On August 1, the Hong Kong High Court approved an order prohibiting Kelly Zong from accessing the funds in an HK$1.8 billion trust account and also required her to provide information on transactions and current balances.
Kelly Zong is the eldest daughter of Wahaha Group’s founder, Zong Qinghou. Zong Qinghou passed away in February 2024, leading to a bitter dispute within the Zong family over assets worth billions.
On December 30, 2024, three individuals claiming to be Zong Qinghou’s American “children”, who are Kelly Zong’s “half-siblings” – Zong Jichang, Zong Jieli, and Zong Jisheng filed inheritance lawsuits simultaneously in mainland China and Hong Kong courts. The three plaintiffs requested the division of an $1.8 billion family trust fund established by Zong Qinghou in Hong Kong and demanded DNA verification to confirm their relationships, further competing for Zong Qinghou’s 29.4% stake in Wahaha Group, valued at over 20 billion RMB.
This case has sparked public attention on issues such as wealth inheritance in Chinese family businesses, corporate governance, and the deep intertwining of a founder’s personal image with the brand of the enterprise.
According to Bloomberg, the hearing for Kelly Zong’s appeal is scheduled for September 30 as per a statement released by the Hong Kong Supreme Court website on Monday (August 18). However, the statement was subsequently deleted for reasons unknown.
A source disclosed that Kelly Zong plans to seek court permission to appeal. Due to the sensitive nature of the information, the source requested anonymity.
Kelly Zong’s legal representative, Anthony Siu, declined to comment. A representative from Karas So LLP, the law firm representing Kelly Zong’s half-siblings, also refused to comment.
In their lawsuit, Kelly Zong’s three half-siblings claimed that Zong Qinghou had set up trust accounts for each of them at HSBC Bank in Hong Kong, promising each a $700 million trust. Around $1.1 million had been transferred out of the HSBC account by Kelly Zong’s side by May 2024, with a remaining balance of about $1.8 billion in early 2024. The three individuals demanded that Kelly Zong fulfill the will, pay millions in asset interests, and compensate for the losses incurred due to fund transfers.
The Hong Kong court subsequently ruled prohibiting Kelly Zong from withdrawing any funds from the HSBC account and requiring her to provide information about the destination of the funds previously withdrawn from the account.
This high-profile dispute over inheritance among the heirs of a wealthy family may serve as a legal precedent for wealth inheritance in China and cast a shadow over one of China’s most iconic beverage empires. The late Zong Qinghou was once China’s wealthiest man, having founded Wahaha in 1987 as a dairy nutrition drink company which later expanded into bottled water, tea, and juice. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Zong Qinghou family owns at least $3.3 billion in wealth.