Wahaha's 100-billion inheritance dispute takes a turn! Zong Fuli and her siblings-in-law are reported to have reconciled during Qingming: jointly going to pay respects to Zong Qinghou

Ask AI · How sweeping graves during Qingming Festival became a turning point for reconciliation within the Wahaha family?

Kuai Technology April 7 News: Renowned brand strategist Li Guangdou recently posted a video on a social platform, saying that tensions within the Wahaha family over the inheritance distribution have shown signs of easing. During the Qingming Festival, the family members’ actions of coming together to honor their ancestors and sweep their graves sent a clear signal of reconciliation.

Li Guangdou said that Qingming Festival is a holiday for family reconciliation. This year’s Qingming Festival brought a reconciliation opportunity for the inheritance dispute case involving Zong Qinghou’s family. Zong Fuli proactively invited her half-siblings—her half-brother and half-sister, Zong Jichang and Zong Jieli—to go and sweep Zong Qinghou’s grave together.

Zong Qinghou’s grave is located in the suburbs of Hangzhou. This joint grave-sweeping action once again connected the family’s ties. What is conveyed behind it is a positive signal that family members want to put aside differences and sit down to communicate and negotiate.

In Li Guangdou’s view, this internal update makes everyone feel somewhat reassured. He commented that the Wahaha channels, brand, and corporate foundation have been preserved. This is the family’s shared grand endeavor of family joy. Family interests can be divided and worked out gradually through negotiation—after all, blood is thicker than water.

No exception, the easing of family disputes is also reflected in the progress of corporate equity negotiations. According to Caixin, in late March, Zong Fuli made a concession. Wahaha and Shangcheng Culture and Tourism (上城文旅) reached a reconciliation agreement and agreed to increase the price by more than 2 billion yuan to advance the cooperation.

It is worth noting that Du Jianying also participated in this negotiation regarding the equity transfer with Shangcheng Culture and Tourism, and agreed to take on acquisition funding of more than 300 million yuan.

Although the ownership percentages on both sides have not yet been disclosed, judging from Zong Fuli’s increased offer, she likely acquired most of Wahaha’s shares held by Shangcheng Culture and Tourism. Du Jianying holds a small portion of the shares. Whether Shangcheng Culture and Tourism will retain a small amount of equity is still subject to further confirmation of news.

This also means that this family dispute is moving toward a happy ending that everyone can be satisfied with. Zong Fuli not only teamed up with Du Jianying for the acquisition, but also recognized the half-siblings “being accepted into the household,” and the family conflict has temporarily subsided.

In Caixin’s report, a person close to Zong Qionghou’s family said that once the equity structure of the Wahaha Group is clarified, Zong Jichang and Zong Jieli are also expected to participate in related affairs of Wahaha. Another interesting detail is that Zong Fuli and these siblings have already agreed to go sweep graves together.

However, it should be noted that beneath what appears to be a complete and satisfactory closing, major issues still remain unresolved, including the 35 billion yuan inheritance distribution, the lawsuit brought by the employee shareholding scheme, and the internal allocation of rights and responsibilities within the family.

Looking back, the spark of the Wahaha family dispute began in July 2025. Sixteen months after the death of Wahaha Group’s founder Zong Qinghou, his eldest daughter Zong Fuli was sued by three people who claimed to be half-siblings: Zong Jichang (Jacky Zong), Zong Jieli (Jessie Zong), and Zong Jisheng (Jerry Zong). The lawsuit involves courts in Hong Kong and Hangzhou. The dispute centers on the allocation of 34 billion yuan in inheritance, mainly including overseas 1.8 billion USD trust assets and Wahaha Group’s 29.4% equity stake (valued at more than 20 billion yuan).