Over 30 Years Old with $8.5 Billion Net Worth, Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Faces New Challenges

Radar Finance Production Text | Peng Cheng Edited | Meng Shuai

In the latest release of the “2026 Hurun Global Rich List,” Zhang Junjie, founder of Bawang Tea Princess, with a net worth of 8.5 billion yuan, becomes China’s youngest self-made billionaire entrepreneur.

Looking back at Zhang Junjie’s rise, it is full of legendary stories. He lost both parents and wandered the streets at age 10, learned to read only at 18, yet in less than ten years, he built a new-style tea beverage empire with over 7,000 stores.

However, compared to the 13.5 billion yuan wealth he had when he appeared on the “2025 Hurun Top Wealth List” last October, his net worth has shrunk by 5 billion yuan in less than half a year.

Behind Zhang Junjie’s wealth decline, the company he leads, Bawang Tea Princess, also faces operational challenges. According to the latest financial report, in the third quarter of last year, the company’s quarterly revenue fell by 9.4%, and net profit decreased by 38.5% year-over-year, marking two consecutive quarters of decline.

Meanwhile, Bawang Tea Princess also faces deeper challenges related to reliance on key products. Additionally, the decline in average monthly GMV per store has put considerable pressure on some franchisees.

In response to these difficulties, Zhang Junjie is actively adjusting strategies. On one hand, Bawang Tea Princess plans to further diversify its product lineup; on the other hand, the company has introduced a new franchise partnership model, shifting from a fixed franchise fee to a revenue-sharing model based on sales.

From a Wandering Boy to an 8.5 Billion Yuan Tycoon

Zhang Junjie’s journey to becoming China’s youngest self-made billionaire with over 1 billion USD is a dramatic personal success story.

According to Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Zhang Junjie was born in Kunming, Yunnan. At age 10, fate dealt him a cruel blow—his parents passed away one after another, and he wandered alone for many years. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he learned to read and write.

In 2010, at age 17, Zhang joined a Taiwanese milk tea chain called “Dawei Milk Tea” as a store clerk. To memorize the ingredients list, he worked from 9 a.m. every day until closing.

Undeterred by hardship, Zhang quickly mastered all aspects of store operations, gradually rising from a clerk to regional deputy manager of Yunnan Dawei Beverage Co., Ltd., and even became a franchise partner.

Notably, before founding Bawang Tea Princess, Zhang worked from July 2015 to March 2017 at Shanghai Muye Robot Technology Co., Ltd., serving as Deputy Head of the Cooperation Department, responsible for Asia-Pacific business.

After years of experience in the tea beverage industry, Zhang accumulated substantial industry knowledge and developed entrepreneurial ambitions, leading to the official founding of Bawang Tea Princess in 2017.

As a native of Yunnan, Zhang did not enter the mainstream fruit tea track at the time but focused on original leaf fresh milk tea, positioning products between 16 and 25 yuan.

Despite his humble background, under his leadership, Bawang Tea Princess embarked on rapid growth.

Tianyancha shows that in 2021, Bawang Tea Princess completed Series A and B financing rounds consecutively.

In April 2025, Bawang Tea Princess listed on NASDAQ in the United States, becoming the first Chinese freshly brewed tea beverage company to go public in the U.S.

By the end of the third quarter last year, Bawang Tea Princess had a total of 7,338 stores worldwide.

With the successful founding of Bawang Tea Princess, Zhang Junjie’s wealth also surged. In the latest “2026 Hurun Global Rich List,” he ranked with 8.5 billion yuan.

It is worth noting that last year, Zhang’s wedding with Gao Haichun, daughter of the leading photovoltaic company Trina Solar’s founder Gao Jifan, attracted widespread online attention. Rumors about Zhang’s marriage and entrepreneurship also circulated on social media.

At that time, while thanking the public for their blessings, Zhang stated that the rumors had caused great harm to him and his family, and “it was necessary to speak out.”

Zhang shared on social media: “Before I met my wife (Gao Haichun), I had never been married, nor had any stories about a ‘tea merchant’s disabled daughter.’ For those spreading baseless rumors just for traffic and attention, we have taken legal action to defend our rights. They have been sanctioned and publicly apologized.”

Less Than a Year After Listing, Bawang Tea Princess Faces Performance Pressure

Despite being the youngest self-made billionaire with over 1 billion USD, Zhang Junjie’s Bawang Tea Princess faced significant challenges in its first year after going public.

The Q3 2025 financial report shows a clear deterioration in key financial metrics.

In Q3 2025, Bawang Tea Princess achieved revenue of 3.208 billion yuan, down 9.4% year-over-year; net profit was 398 million yuan, down 38.5% YoY.

This marked the second consecutive quarter of net profit decline; in Q2 2025, net profit was 77 million yuan, a drop of 87.7%.

Regarding GMV, in the first three quarters of last year, quarterly GMV was 8.227 billion, 8.103 billion, and 7.93 billion yuan, showing a decreasing trend each quarter.

At the store level, in Q3 2025, the average monthly GMV per store in Greater China was 378,500 yuan, down 28.3% from 528,000 yuan in the same period last year.

Looking at the trend, this indicator has declined for several consecutive quarters: 456,000 yuan in Q4 2024, 432,000 yuan in Q1 2025, and 404,400 yuan in Q2 2025.

Additionally, user activity has also decreased. By the end of Q3 2022, Bawang Tea Princess had 222 million registered members, but active members dropped from 44.9 million in Q1 2022 to 35.2 million in Q3 2022, a decline of 21.6%.

Behind these declining figures, overseas markets have become a rare bright spot. In Q3 2025, overseas GMV grew by 75.3% YoY to 300 million yuan, with two consecutive quarters of over 75% growth.

Notably, on March 9, Bawang Tea Princess announced its entry into the Korean market, with the first store scheduled to open in Q2 2026. South Korea is the eighth overseas market for Bawang Tea Princess.

As early as 2019, Bawang Tea Princess opened its first overseas store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and later expanded into Singapore and Thailand. In 2025, it entered Indonesia, the U.S., Vietnam, and the Philippines.

As of September 30, 2025, Bawang Tea Princess had 262 overseas stores, with international markets gradually becoming a key growth engine.

Concerns Behind the “First U.S. Stock of New Tea Drinks” Halo

Bawang Tea Princess’s declining financial data on the surface also reveals a potential risk: heavy reliance on the flagship product “Boya Juexian” (Boya’s Stringless Zither).‌

Sullivan data shows that from January 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, “Boya Juexian” sold over 1.25 billion cups.‌ At a price of 16 yuan per cup, this contributed approximately 200 billion yuan in revenue.

According to Guosheng Securities, “Boya Juexian” accounts for over 40% of Bawang Tea Princess’s sales.

While the flagship product is popular among consumers, the company’s product update speed is relatively slow. According to the IPO prospectus, from 2022 to 2024, Bawang Tea Princess launched 14, 22, and 15 new products respectively.

The China Beverage Industry Report 2025 states that among 38 tea brands surveyed, from December 2023 to November 2024, a total of 1,578 new products were launched, averaging 41.5 new products per brand annually.

Additionally, data from Jiemian News in late November last year shows that since the beginning of the year, Bawang Tea Princess launched only 8 new products nationwide; since June, only 4 new products, two of which are iterations of “Boya Juexian”—low caffeine and floral versions.

This relatively slow pace of new product launches is below industry average, and most new products have not been able to replicate the momentum of past big hits like “Boya Juexian” or “Wanli Mulan.”

Undeniably, this “super product” strategy demonstrates high supply chain efficiency.

The IPO prospectus discloses that in 2024, logistics costs accounted for less than 1% of global GMV, with an inventory turnover of 5.3 days. Compared to other tea beverage companies with over a thousand stores, this is the lowest.

However, as competitors enter the light milk tea segment, Bawang Tea Princess’s product moat is under attack.

For example, Luckin Coffee’s “Qingqing Jasmine Light Milk Tea” achieved an astonishing 44 million cups in its first month. Stores specializing in jasmine milk white, like Grandpa’s Tea, have surpassed 2,000 locations, and the sub-brand Tea Waterfall under Shanghai Auntie is expanding rapidly.

Moreover, profit margins for Bawang Tea Princess franchisees are under pressure. Although the company reports a store closure rate of 0.3% for three consecutive quarters, far below the industry average of 2%-10%, the average monthly GMV per store is already under stress.

According to Huxiu, some franchisees have revealed to media that “the payback period rarely occurs on a monthly basis. Store revenue flow is okay, but after deducting labor, rent, and other costs, the remaining profit means the payback period starts at about a year.”

Due to the impact of delivery price wars, some Bawang Tea Princess stores have seen their transfer costs drop from over 1 million yuan to 500,000–600,000 yuan. In some popular cities, multiple stores in the same commercial area operate simultaneously, causing significant customer flow dilution.

In response, Bawang Tea Princess is actively adjusting its strategy. In November 2025, Zhang Junjie stated during the earnings call that the company will diversify its product matrix, launch a 4.0 menu, explore new consumption scenarios, and strengthen flagship stores by developing breakfast and evening service scenes to improve store utilization.

Additionally, for franchisees, Bawang Tea Princess has introduced a new partnership model, shifting from fixed franchise fees to revenue sharing, aiming to transform the relationship from landlord-tenant to partnership.

Can this youngest self-made billionaire in China lead Bawang Tea Princess out of the “peak at listing” curse? Radar Finance will continue to monitor.