China’s first-wave tycoons are retiring. Are their kids ready to step up?
As China’s first-generation entrepreneurs reach old age, their companies grapple with succession dilemmas and a new business landscape
When Zong Qinghou – at one time the richest person in China – died in February at 79, the battle to take over his Hangzhou Wahaha Group quickly descended into a drama worthy of the HBO series Succession.
Kelly Zong was forced to fend off challenges from other figures within Wahaha, in a struggle filled with twists and turns that kept the public guessing for weeks.
The spectacle shone a light on a looming crisis facing China’s business dynasties. The first generation of the country’s entrepreneurs has reached old age, and their children are confronting the daunting task of taking over their parents’ work – running some of the most successful companies in the world’s second-largest economy.
Between 2017 and 2022, about three-quarters of the country’s family-owned companies reported succession issues, according to surveys from a research association under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
