TikTok’s global success has made Zhang Yiming, co-founder of its parent company ByteDance, the richest person in China.
According to a report by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang’s wealth is now estimated at $49.3 billion, a 43% increase from last year.
Although Zhang stepped down as head of ByteDance in 2021, he still owns about 20% of the company. TikTok’s popularity has surged worldwide, even as some countries raise concerns about its links to the Chinese government.
The U.S. has gone so far as to set a deadline for January 2025, threatening to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells it.
Despite this pressure, ByteDance’s profits soared by 60% last year, boosting Zhang’s personal wealth significantly.
“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new richest person in China in the past 26 years,” noted Rupert Hoogewerf, head of the Hurun Research Institute.
He compared this to the U.S., where only four individuals have held the top spot in the same period—Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.
Other tech leaders also rank highly on China’s wealth list. Pony Ma, the CEO of Tencent, holds the third spot, with a net worth of approximately $44.4 billion.
