The surging international reputation of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its mother or father firm, ByteDance, develop into China’s richest particular person.
Based on a wealthy record produced by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming, is now value $49.3bn (£38bn) – 43% greater than in 2023.
The 41 12 months outdated stepped down from his role in charge of the company in 2021, however is known to personal round 20% of the agency.
TikTok has develop into some of the in style social media apps on this planet, regardless of deep issues in some nations about its ties to the Chinese language state.
Whereas each firms insist they’re impartial of the Chinese language authorities, the US intends to ban TikTok in January 2025 until ByteDance sells it.
Regardless of dealing with that intense strain within the US, ByteDance’s global profit increased by 60% last year, driving up Zhang Yiming’s private fortune.
“Zhang Yiming is the 18th new Quantity One we now have had in China in simply 26 years,” stated 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 financial system.”
Mr Zhang just isn’t the one consultant of China’s large 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 usually are not simply defined by their firms successes – their rivals have made much less in a 12 months through which China’s economy has sputtered.
In actual fact, solely roughly 30% of the individuals on the record had a rise of their web value – the remaining noticed a decline.
“The Hurun China Wealthy Checklist has shrunk for an unprecedented third 12 months working, as China’s financial system and inventory markets had a troublesome 12 months,” stated Mr Hoogewerf.
“The variety of people on the record was down by 12% prior to now 12 months to simply below 1100 people and 25% from the excessive level of 2021.”
He stated the information confirmed it had been a superb 12 months for smartphone producers akin to Xiaomi, whereas the inexperienced vitality market had stumbled.
“Photo voltaic panel, lithium battery and EV makers have had a difficult 12 months, as competitors intensified, resulting in a glut, and the specter of tariffs added to uncertainties,” he stated.
“Photo voltaic panel makers noticed their wealth down as a lot as 80% from the 2021 peak, while battery and EV makers had been down by half and 1 / 4 respectively.”
