W ang Zhenghua is a self-made Chinese billionaire who is a pioneer of the country's private aviation industry. He is the founder and chairman of Spring Airlines, China's first and largest low-cost carrier. A former government official, he founded a travel agency in the 1980s. In the early 2000s, he seized the opportunity created by the deregulation of the Chinese aviation industry to launch his own airline. He has since built Spring Airlines into a major player in the massive Chinese travel market.

Spring Airlines' success is built on its rigorous focus on cost control, high aircraft utilization, and a no-frills service model, which allows it to offer some of the lowest fares in the market. He took the company public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and his family's large controlling stake is the source of their billion-dollar fortune. He has since handed over the day-to-day management of the company to his son, Wang Yu, but he remains the chairman and a revered figure in the Chinese aviation industry.