On February 10, 1963, a pair of twins were born to a poor family named Chen in Anding Village, Yangzhong, Jiangsu Province. Since they already had a son and a daughter, the arrival of the twins not only failed to bring joy to the couple, but also made them depressed. After all, it was difficult to support so many children given the family's conditions. On this day, a fetus was also born in the Shi family.
Unfortunately, he died shortly after birth, which made the Shi family extremely sad. After all, the child they had finally conceived failed to survive. While they were sad, they especially looked forward to having a child.
So, after negotiation between the Shi and Chen families, the younger brother of the Chen twins was given to the Shi family and named Shi Zhengrong, and his fate changed for the better. The Shi family is not rich, but compared to Shi Zhengrong's original family, it is naturally better off. In addition, the Shi family was generous. Although they later gave birth to biological children, they still regarded Shi Zhengrong as their own. Not only did they feel sorry for him, but they also continued to support him in his studies.
Shi Zhengrong has known his life experience since he was a child. Although his adoptive parents treated him well, he never felt safe. Therefore, he has been very sensible and respectful to his adoptive parents since he was a child. Especially in his studies, he worked hard and diligently, and his results were always second to none.
Sixteen-year-old Shi Zhengrong was among the first batch of college students to resume the college entrance examination. He was successfully admitted to Changchun University of Science and Technology, majoring in optical instruments. After graduating from university, 20-year-old Shi Zhengrong was admitted to the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, to pursue a master's degree. At that time, China was short of talents and spared no effort in cultivating talents. Talented talents like Shi Zhengrong naturally attracted the attention of the country. So, after receiving his master's degree, he studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Australia at public expense and studied under Professor Martin Green, an international authority on solar cells.
While studying abroad, Shi Zhengrong quickly gained the attention of Professor Martin Green through his outstanding performance. Through continuous research, he not only published many high-quality doctoral theses, but also obtained a number of patents.
After receiving his doctorate in 1993, Shi Zhengrong did not think of serving the motherland. Instead, he became a researcher at a research institute under the recommendation of Professor Martin Green. Later, he became an Australian citizen, married a wife and had children there, and lived a quite prosperous middle-class life.
However, Shi Zhengrong is not satisfied with this peaceful and prosperous life where he can see his old age at a glance. He was still young, and such an ordinary life obviously made him feel too bored.
At that time, in the tide of reform and opening up in China, many people went overseas to do business, and there were many successful people among them. Looking at these people on the rich list, Shi Zhengrong also hopes that one day he can be among them.
Compared with those lucky people who go into business, Shi Zhengrong believes that he has more advantages than them. On the one hand, I have conducted in-depth research in the photovoltaic field and have more than 10 patents alone. This is equivalent to him possessing science and technology that others do not have, and at the same time, it is still in a blank range in China. In other words, he will be the first to eat the crab, which of course makes it easier for him to win.
So, Shi Zhengrong quit his well-paid researcher job in 2000, sold his property, and returned to China with US$400,000, his wife and children.
At first, Shi Zhengrong lobbied everywhere, and he told people: "With only 8 million US dollars, I can create the world's largest company."
At that time, Although some people make a lot of money, $8 million is still a lot of money. In addition, "photovoltaic" is an unfamiliar word. Businessmen who have been ups and downs in the business world understand that people can never make wealth beyond their knowledge unless they rely on luck. And the wealth gained by luck is often lost based on strength, so they are extremely cautious about investment. Moreover, Shi Zhengrong looks so talkative and has the temperament of a pyramid schemer.
Not only businessmen distrust Shi Zhengrong, but government officials also dislike him and think he is a liar, so he is often kicked out of the office.
However, the complacent Shi Zhengrong was not discouraged. After his efforts again and again, he finally met someone who was willing to believe in him-Li Yanren.
Li Yanren is the former director of the Wuxi Municipal Economic Commission. At that time, he had retreated to the second line and was planning to make an investment.
So, when Shi Zhengrong described the bright prospects of the photovoltaic industry to Li Yanren, Li Yanren's eyes lit up and he immediately decided to cooperate with Shi Zhengrong.
Li Yannian used his many years of connections to not only get support from the Wuxi government, but also to attract state-owned enterprises for financing. In the end, with his efforts, he raised US$6 million in one round. Coupled with Shi Zhengrong's US$400,000 and his patented technology worth US$1.6 million, the funds for establishing the company are in place.
Subsequently, with the support of the Wuxi government, Shi Zhengrong not only received free industrial land, but also obtained preferential policies in taxation and other aspects. As a result, the Sino-Australian joint venture Wuxi Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. was officially established.
Although everything is going on in a chaotic manner, in Shi Zhengrong's view, starting a business is not like doing scientific research after all. He also experienced a lot of difficulties at the beginning, and even faced difficulties in operations several times because the company had only a handful of orders. The personnel in the company are also very mobile, and several important central technical personnel have also changed jobs.
What Shi Zhengrong never forgets most is that because he could not make ends meet at that time, not only the companies he cooperated with had to move the company's equipment to offset the debt, but also the employees of the cleaning company, because of the 20,000 yuan contract, She also pointed at his nose and made rude remarks to him.
Just when there was nothing to do, Li Yanren stepped forward again. Under his lobbying, many companies such as Little Swan and Shanhe Pharmaceutical invested another 50 million yuan. In order to set an example in attracting investment, the Wuxi government secured a low-interest loan of RMB 50 million for Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. Within the scope of his ability, Shi Zhengrong was given 11 consumer projects. After many efforts, Shi Zhengrong finally overcame the difficulties.
With the strong support of the government, there are also financial blessings from many companies. But the most fortunate thing is that Germany just announced the "New Energy Law". Not only has the demand for photovoltaics in various countries increased dramatically, but considerable government subsidies have also added fuel to the fire of photovoltaic energy.
Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. mainly produces photovoltaic cells and components. Due to the excellent product quality, the value is 2 points lower than that of foreign companies. Therefore, foreign companies have signed orders with Suntech Solar Power Company one after another, which has allowed Suntech Solar Power Company to quickly turn losses into profits. And in the third year after the company was founded, its performance increased dozens of times, with sales in the billions a year alone. Such a performance myth shocked everyone at the time.
As a leader in the photovoltaic industry, Shi Zhengrong has naturally attracted the attention of the media. Not only is he known as "China's No. 1 photovoltaic person", but when he is mentioned, everyone is full of praise for him. . Indeed, it was he who introduced the unfamiliar industry of photovoltaics into the country, shortening the gap between the domestic photovoltaic industry and the world's standards by as much as 15 years. So in everyone's eyes, he is not a simple industrialist, he is a scientist-like industrialist.
At that time, the photovoltaic industry became the most promising green industry. More than 300 cities across the country were rushing to establish photovoltaic industrial parks with an output value of over 100 billion. The country also listed the photovoltaic industry as one of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" planning". In addition, in order to encourage the photovoltaic industry, the state also provides relatively high subsidies.
In a favorable situation, Shi Zhengrong set out to get rid of the public managers who were restraining him. The first person to leave the company was Li Yanren, who had made great achievements in the company's founding.
After Li Yanren, a former official, became the chairman of the company, he knew how to use political tactics to establish prestige in the company and form cliques to form his own power. Executives who refused to submit to him were rejected by him and eventually left for other companies.
Moreover, Li Yanren often relied on his own merits and thought that Shi Zhengrong only knew technology and basically did not know how to deal with personal relationships.
So he thought that the company was established by him using his connections, which also made him look down upon Shi Zhengrong. Not only did he often belittle Shi Zhengrong's abilities in front of employees, but he also repeatedly made important decisions without consulting Shi Zhengrong.
In Shi Zhengrong's view, there have been big problems with the company's management, so he started with Li Yannian and gradually removed the power to team up with Li Yannian. For example, when Li Yannian left, he only took away 1 million yuan and the Mercedes-Benz he had driven for many years.
Subsequently, Shi Zhengrong spent money to buy out the shares of the eight state-owned enterprise shareholders who had originally raised funds, causing them to withdraw from the board of directors one after another.
At this time, Shi Zhengrong felt that no one would tell him what to do anymore. Therefore, with his efforts, Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. was successfully listed in the United States in the second half of 2005.
It must be said that Shi Zhengrong is really a legend at this time, because in just 4 years, he made funds snowball and quickly reached more than 18 billion in assets. As a result, he refreshed the richest man rankings and became the first generation richest man.
The victory came so quickly that Shi Zhengrong seemed a little carried away. He said: "From today on, I will no longer make a penny, I will only spend money."
Shi Zhengrong implemented his decision. If in the early days of starting a business, he often visited the workshop to inspect and ate packed lunches in the canteen with the workers, now he rarely shows up in the company. He often stays abroad, either having dinner with US Vice President Al Gore, discussing business with Britain's Prince Charles, or attending events with Australian actress Cate Blanchett.
In order to be worthy of the title of "the richest man", Shi Zhengrong also travels very openly. When he went to attend the Davos Forum, he spent US$200,000 to charter a business jet, and he also hired six bodyguards to protect him and his family.
Shi Zhengrong, who has always liked luxury cars, has successively purchased three Lexus, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz S600, a top-of-the-line Bentley, a Land Rover and a Volvo. He pays attention to etiquette. When meeting different people, he always drives different cars according to the identity and temperament of the other person.
After going abroad, Shi Zhengrong's reputation has also spread abroad. The British "Guoguo" named him one of the "50 people who can save the earth." Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd., which he founded, is also called "Microsoft in the photovoltaic industry" by Wall Street in the United States.
At that time, Shi Zhengrong was very popular in China. Every day, reporters would wait at the door of his home or company, just to interview him. Many important events and celebrity gatherings will invite him to add glamour.
Enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by stars, Shi Zhengrong’s majesty became even greater. At the end of 2000, as the photovoltaic industry market began to decline, at the New Energy Industry Summit, Shi Zhengrong rudely pointed at government officials and colleagues in front of everyone and said: "You should go back and reflect on it."
Everything must be reversed when it reaches its extreme, and Shi Zhengrong’s glory did not last long.
Due to the rapid expansion of the domestic photovoltaic industry, the price of silicon has risen from the initial US$20 per kilogram to US$200 per kilogram. In order to have a stable silicon supply company, Shi Zhengrong signed a 10-year contract with the silicon supply company at a price of US$80 to US$100 per kilogram after some negotiations.
Unexpectedly, not long after the contract was signed, the 2008 economic crisis hit. This economic crisis has also highlighted the problem of overcapacity in the photovoltaic industry. Therefore, in order to alleviate this phenomenon, the state suspended subsidies to the photovoltaic industry. As a result, many photovoltaic industries quickly went bankrupt due to the loss of economic subsidies, and the price of silicon raw materials also plummeted as demand decreased.
At this time, Shi Zhengrong, who was dumbfounded, had no choice but to terminate the contract with the silicon supply company early and paid US$210 million in liquidated damages.
But then, the anti-dumping and countervailing bills implemented in Europe and the United States made the domestic photovoltaic industry even worse. The market value of Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. also lost 60%. After that, Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. suffered serious losses every day and owed a huge amount of debt.
By 2013, Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. was on the verge of bankruptcy.
At that time, the Wuxi government and the State Development Bank wanted to rescue Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. However, they proposed that Shi Zhengrong use his personal assets as an unlimited liability guarantee, but Shi Zhengrong objected.
Later, the Wuxi government proposed to let the state-owned company Wuxi Guolian take over Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd., which meant that Shi Zhengrong would withdraw his personal shares, which was also rejected by Shi Zhengrong.
Shi Zhengrong, who was unwilling to sacrifice his personal interests, turned to the Wuxi government and said: "I have so many employees, if you don't save me, I will close the door."
Because Shi Zhengrong and the Wuxi government No consensus was reached, and in the end, Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. was like fireworks, experiencing extreme brilliance and fleeting decline in just a few years.
However, at the last moment, Shi Zhengrong did not think about saving the company, but used various means to transfer a large amount of Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd.'s property to his own name, and then he walked away. . He left the mess of Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd. to the Wuxi government.
Shi Zhengrong’s treacherous behavior has accelerated the demise of Suntech Solar Power Co., Ltd.
At that time, the outside world was very disdainful of his behavior. A reporter asked him why he refused to use his personal assets as a guarantee in the first place. But he said indifferently: "I have already left Suntech, why should I use my money to guarantee it."
Entrepreneurs attach great importance to credibility, but Shi Zhengrong does not think so. Although he was insulted by countless people because of his bankruptcy, he was not ashamed at all. He said: "I am a person with a guilty conscience. Based on this, I don't feel wronged by my silence."
After that, , Shi Zhengrong returned to Australia and stayed quiet for a while. Just when people had gradually forgotten about him, he appeared at the Domestic New Energy Industry Summit with a new type of photovoltaic product.
Not long after, people discovered that Shi Zhengrong was on the Hurun Rich List again with a fortune of 2.5 billion, and his identity had become the "Chairman of Shangmai New Energy."
Obviously, this once notorious person wants to make a comeback, but he doesn’t know if he can still be as lucky as before if he lacks credibility.