Zhang Yiming, founding father of TikTok proprietor ByteDance, is the wealthiest particular person in China with a private fortune of near $50 billion, in accordance with the annual Hurun China Wealthy Checklist.
Zhang Yiming, founding father of ByteDance attends the opening ceremony of the fifth World Web Convention in Wuzhen in east China’s Zhejiang province on Nov. 7, 2018. (Chinatopix By way of AP)
The 41-year-old, who resigned as CEO of ByteDance in 2021, has a web value of $49.3 billion and jumped 4 spots from the earlier 12 months. Additionally, he’s the primary particular person from the Eighties to rank first in 26 years of the record.
The rise in Zhang’s private fortune is primarily because of the $110 billion it made as world income in 2023, a development of 30% from the earlier 12 months, Hurun China discovered. This was regardless of the corporate combating a authorized battle over its belongings within the US, it added.
In the meantime, bottled water magnate Zhong Shanshan fell one spot to second, as his web value slipped 24% to $47.9 billion. In February, his model Nongfu Spring confronted backlash over the design of its bottles, resulting in it being accused of ‘disloyalty’ to China.
Ma Huateng ($44.4 billion) of expertise conglomerate Tencent was third, adopted by e-commerce agency Pinduodo’s Huang Zheng ($34.5 billion). Rounding off the highest 5 had been He Xiangjian and household ($33.1 billion) of Midea, a supplier of family home equipment.
At sixth had been Zeng Yuqun (CATL; $28.2 billion), Ding Lei (Netease) and Lia Ka-shing, Victor Li and Tzar Kuoi (Cheung Kong). Alibaba founder Jack Ma ($23.2 billion) was tenth, behind Lee Shau Kee and Household (Henderson Land; $24.6 billion).
This 12 months, the variety of billionaires dropped to 753, as towards 895 in 2023. Moreover, the entire wealth of entrepreneurs was $3 trillion, down 10% from a 12 months in the past.
“China’s solar panel, lithium battery and EV makers have had a challenging year, as competition intensified, leading to a glut, and the threat of tariffs added to uncertainties,” stated Rupert Hoogewarf, Chairman, Hurun Report.