A $13 Billion Sneaker Fortune Started on a Pig Farm in Taiwan
- Huali Industrial founder Zhang is Taiwan’s richest person
- The footwear maker ships some 180 million pairs annually
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When Zhang Congyuan started his sneaker business more than three decades ago, he couldn’t afford a regular factory, so he converted a pig farm next to paddy fields in western Taiwan.
Today, the founder of Huali Industrial Group is worth more than $13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Huali, which counts Nike Inc., Converse Inc. and Vans Inc. among its customers, produces more than 180 million pairs of shoes a year.