Beijing: The wedding of a tea-shop chain entrepreneur and a solar-panel heiress is set to offer a rare glimpse into the next generation of China’s ultra-wealthy.
Zhang Junjie, who founded New York-listed Chagee Holdings Ltd., will marry Gao Haichun, daughter of Gao Jifan, the founder of renewables giant Trina Solar Co. The upcoming nuptials sparked a buzz in Chinese social media, after local outlets reported an invitation card with an illustration of the groom and bride.
Zhang and Gao — also known as Katherine — are both in their early 30s and met at an event for young entrepreneurs. They have registered for marriage, according to a Trina Solar spokesperson, who said the wedding will take place in the near future but declined to provide further details. Chagee didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The couple’s marriage will unite the two families at a time their businesses face different headwinds in the world’s second-largest economy. There are currently no transactions or business collaborations planned between the two companies, the Trina Solar spokesperson said.
Zhang was catapulted to the billionaire rankings after his company listed in New York in April. He was part of a wave of Chinese people who made fortunes as fresh tea chains exploded in popularity.
But after a sharp fall in Chagee’s shares, Zhang’s net worth has dropped to $853 million, down roughly 60% from the IPO, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gao Jifan’s fortune stands at about $2 billion, down from a $10.2 billion peak in December 2021.
Tea King, Solar Princess
Zhang started Chagee in 2017 in Yunnan, a province in southwest China that borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The company’s name derives from a classic Chinese tragedy called Farewell My Concubine, which tells the story of a warrior king from ancient China and his romantic farewell to his lover. Its logo features the figure of a huadan, a young woman in the Peking Opera.
Unlike bubble tea brands known for sugary, tapioca-filled drinks, Chagee specializes in premium, milk-based teas using traditional Chinese blends like green, black and oolong. It had a network of over 7,000 shops at the end of June, with the vast majority of them in China.
Read more: A 30-Year-Old Becomes Billionaire on Chinese Tea Chain’s IPO
Chagee shares have come under pressure as the tea maker decided to stick to a strategy of premium products at high prices despite a plunge in sales and profit and a rise in competition.
Gao Haichun is part of a group of young Chinese who are poised to inherit billions in wealth from their parents. Born in 1993, she studied economics at Brown University in the US and briefly worked at consulting firm McKinsey & Co. before joining Trina’s investment arm in 2017.
She is currently the co-chairman of Trina Solar and the president of the company’s solution business unit. The Changzhou-based solar panel giant, founded by her father in 1997, has a market value of about 43 billion yuan ($6.3 billion).
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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