STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business comes from China, and the word is: Wahaha. That's the name of China's third-largest beverage company. It sells soda, juice and other bottled drinks.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The name means laughing children. It turned out the man who runs it is the one with the most to laugh about.

INSKEEP: Zong Qing Hou is now the richest man in China, according to Bloomberg billionaire's index, which calculated his net worth to be $21.6 billion.

MONTAGNE: He founded Wahaha 25 years ago with a $22,000 loan. Last year, the company earned about $11 billion in revenue.

INSKEEP: Laughing all the way to the bank - Wahaha.

(LAUGHTER)

MONTAGNE: And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.