TikTok’s ever-rising popularity has seen the founder of parent company ByteDance become China’s richest man as his vast fortune is revealed.
According to an annual rich list compiled by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming is now worth a whopping £38 billion – up 43 percent from 2023.
The 41-year-old, who stepped down as CEO of ByteDance in 2021, has become the 18th person to be crowned China’s richest person in the 26 years since the Hurun China Rich List was first published.
Yiming is believed to still own around 20 percent of the company as he overtook bottled water magnate Zhong Shanshan, who fell to second place as his fortune fell 24 percent to £36.8 billion.
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with more than a billion users, despite concerns in some countries about its ties to the Chinese state.
China’s richest man has been revealed as TikTok founder Zhang Yiming
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with more than a billion users, despite concerns in some countries about its ties to the Chinese state
Although both companies insist they are independent of the Chinese government, the US will ban TikTok in January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it.
The legislation in the US was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year.
If the bill becomes law, the owner of the popular video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a possible three-month extension while the sale is ongoing or risk a ban.
The FBI has issued a stark warning that ByteDance could share user data, such as search history, location and biometric finders, with China’s authoritarian government.
TikTok has denied ever doing this.
But despite a legal battle over its US assets, ByteDance’s global revenue grew 30 percent to £84.6 billion last year, Hurun said, helping to boost Zhang’s personal fortune.
“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new number one we have had in China in just 26 years,” said head of Hurun Rupert Hoogewerf.
‘By comparison, the US only has four number one countries: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
“This gives an indication of some of the dynamics in the Chinese economy.”
Zhang stepped down as chairman of ByteDance in 2021 after stepping down as CEO earlier that year, reportedly under pressure from the Chinese government.
He started the company in 2012 in a four-bedroom apartment in Beijing.
Yiming, who stepped down as CEO of ByteDance in 2021, has become the 18th person to be crowned China’s richest person in the 26 years since the Hurun China Rich List was first published.
Third on Hurun’s list was Tencent’s low-profile founder Pony Ma, while PDD Holdings founder Colin Huang fell to fourth from third place last year, even as his company’s discount-focused e-commerce platforms remain , Pinduoduo and Temu, show healthy sales growth.
The number of billionaires on the list fell by 142 to 753, a drop of more than a third from the 2021 peak.
“The Chinese economy and stock markets have had a difficult year,” said Hurun Report chairman Rupert Hoogewerf.
The most dramatic drop in fortunes has come from China’s property sector, he added, while consumer electronics is clearly rising rapidly, with Xiaomi founder Lei Jun adding £3.8 billion to his fortune this year.
“Solar panels, lithium batteries and EV manufacturers have had a challenging year as competition has increased, leading to a glut, and the threat of tariffs has increased uncertainty,” said Hoogewerf, who is also the list’s lead researcher .
“Solar panel manufacturers saw their wealth fall by as much as 80 percent from their 2021 peak, while battery and electric car makers fell by half and a quarter respectively.”