The surging international recognition of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its father or mother firm, ByteDance, turn into China’s richest individual.
Based on a wealthy record produced by the Hurun Analysis Institute, Zhang Yiming, is now price $49.3bn (£38bn) – 43% greater than in 2023.
The 41 yr outdated stepped down from his function in control of the corporate in 2021, however is known to personal round 20% of the agency.
TikTok has turn into some of the common social media apps on the planet, regardless of deep considerations in some international locations about its ties to the Chinese language state.
Whereas each corporations insist they’re impartial of the Chinese language authorities, the US intends to ban TikTok in January 2025 until ByteDance sells it.
Regardless of going through that intense stress within the US, ByteDance’s international revenue elevated by 60% final yr, driving up Zhang Yiming’s private fortune.
“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new Quantity One now we have had in China in simply 26 years,” mentioned head of Hurun Rupert Hoogewerf.
“The US, by comparability, has solely 4 Quantity Ones: Invoice Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
“This provides a sign of among the dynamism within the Chinese language economic system.”
Mr Zhang just isn’t the one consultant of China’s big tech sector on the record.
Pony Ma, boss of the tech conglomerate, Tencent, is third on the record with an estimated private wealth amounting to £44.4bn.
However their fortunes aren’t simply defined by their corporations successes – their rivals have made much less in a yr through which China’s economic system has sputtered.
In truth, solely roughly 30% of the folks on the record had a rise of their web price – the remaining noticed a decline.
“The Hurun China Wealthy Checklist has shrunk for an unprecedented third yr working, as China’s economic system and inventory markets had a tough yr,” mentioned Mr Hoogewerf.
“The variety of people on the record was down by 12% prior to now yr to only below 1100 people and 25% from the excessive level of 2021.”
He mentioned the info confirmed it had been an excellent yr for smartphone producers resembling Xiaomi, whereas the inexperienced power market had stumbled.
“Photo voltaic panel, lithium battery and EV makers have had a difficult yr, as competitors intensified, resulting in a glut, and the specter of tariffs added to uncertainties,” he mentioned.
“Photo voltaic panel makers noticed their wealth down as a lot as 80% from the 2021 peak, while battery and EV makers have been down by half and 1 / 4 respectively.”
