The Founder of the Company That Owns “TikTok” Tops China’s Rich List

29th October 2024

1 minute read

The Founder of the Company That Owns "TikTok" Tops China's Rich List

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, topped the Hurun list of China’s richest people on Tuesday, with a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, surpassing his peers in the real estate and renewable energy sectors, according to Reuters.

Zhang, 41, stepped down as CEO of ByteDance in 2021, becoming the eighteenth person to lead China’s rich list in the 26 years since the Hurun list was first published.

Zhang surpassed bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, who dropped to second place after his wealth declined by 24% to $47.9 billion.

Despite a legal battle over its assets in the United States, ByteDance’s global revenues grew 30% last year to reach $110 billion, contributing to the growth of Zhang‘s personal wealth.

The third place on the list went to Pony Ma, founder of Tencent, while Colin Huang, founder of PDD Holdings, dropped to fourth place, even as revenues from his company’s e-commerce platforms, Pinduoduo and Temu, continued to grow.

The number of billionaires on the list fell by 142 to 753, a decrease of more than a third from its peak in 2021.