EBN- Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, topped the Hurun China Rich List on Tuesday, with a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, outperforming peers in the real estate and renewable energy sectors, Reuters reported.
Zhang, 41, stepped down as ByteDance’s CEO in 2021, becoming the 18th person to top China’s richest person in the 26 years since the Hurun China Rich List was first published.
TikTok owner surpassed bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, who dropped to second place after his wealth fell 24 percent to $47.9 billion.
Despite a legal battle over its assets in the United States, ByteDance’s global revenue grew 30 percent last year to $110 billion, helping boost Zhang’s personal fortune.
Tencent founder Pony Ma came in third on the list, while Colin Huang, founder of BDD Holding, dropped to fourth, even as revenue from his company’s e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and Timo continued to grow.
The number of billionaires on the list fell by 142 to 753, down more than a third from its peak in 2021.
