A person can make a fortune quite unexpectedly and even become one of the richest people in the world. The story of a Chinese businessman is a vivid example of this statement. Qin Yinglin, the chairman of the Chinese pig breeder Muyuan Foodstuff Co Ltd, is said to be the owner of the fastest-growing fortune in the world. In 2019, his capital has skyrocketed to $6.6 billion reaching a record of $8.56 billion by the end of the year. The net worth of the company has jumped by 341%, experts emphasize. Such explosive growth was mainly driven by rising pork prices. A serious shortage of pork in China allowed the company to inflate prices which led to a tremendous increase in profits in the second half of 2019. In the third quarter, Muyuan’s profit surged by 260%. The company’s success directly benefits Qin Yinglin who owns a 60% stake in Muyuan Foodstuff. The outbreak of African swine fever on Chinese pig farms has considerably reduced the livestock. The country’s pork production has reduced by nearly a third and sent prices up by almost 50% compared to 2018. China is both the world’s largest producer and consumer of pork. The Chinese government resorted to all the available measures to restore production, however, without any visible results. According to Bloomberg, Qin Yinglin is not the only pork billionaire in China. He was surpassed by Liu Yonghao, the chairman of the world’s largest pork producer, New Hope Group. This year, his company has almost doubled its revenue to $11 billion.
