A Hong Kong court earlier this month barred Kelly, daughter of the group’s late founder Zong Qinghou, from accessing the bank account following a lawsuit from her three half-siblings.
It also ordered her to disclose full details of the account, including its current balance, any asset transfers or disposals since Feb. 2, 2024, and a complete record of all asset movements.
A statement posted on the court’s website on Monday said a hearing on Kelly’s appeal was scheduled for Sept. 30, but the statement was later removed for unclear reasons, as reported by Bloomberg.
Kelly(FuliZong) is delivering a speech while attending a forum event in Hangzhou, China, on Nov. 24, 2020. Photo by CFOTO via Reuters
Kelly is being sued by her half-siblings, said to be extramarital children of the late Zong and former Wahaha executive Du Jianying, for $2.1 billion in trust assets they claim their father promised them before his death last February.
The trio, Jacky, Jessie, and Jerry Zong, said the late tycoon left “hand-written instructions” in January 2024 directing a subordinate to set up three separate trusts, each valued at $700 million.
The HSBC account, which held roughly $1.8 billion as of early 2024, supposedly contains the funds for the trusts.
As evidence, the plaintiffs had submitted to the court a letter with Kelly’s signature affirming her intention to honor the trusts, along with two handwritten wills, and accused the heiress of not following through on the plan while withdrawing over $6 million from the bank account, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Zong, who was once China’s richest man, founded Wahaha in 1987. The beverage company began with a milk-based nutritional drink and later expanded nationwide, offering bottled water, tea, and fruit juices. He passed away at 79 with a net worth estimated by Forbes at $5.9 billion as of 2023.
Following his death, Kelly took over the company, earning her the nickname “Princess of Wahaha.” She had graduated from Pepperdine University in the U.S. and already had years of experience at the firm.
She briefly resigned five months into her leadership due to shareholder disagreements but later returned after negotiations. The firm’s revenues soared by 40% to 70 billion yuan (US$9.7 billion) last year under Kelly’s management, per China Daily.
Du was Wahaha’s vice party secretary and reportedly a behind-the-scenes force second only to Zong himself in the company’s early years, according to Caixin Global.
The ongoing inheritance feud at the beverage giant could set a legal precedent for wealth succession in China and put one of the nation’s most prominent beverage companies under scrutiny.
It also raises questions about the late Zong’s reputation as an honest and respected businessman and highlights concerns over the long-term stability of family-owned enterprises in the country.