ByteDance’s founder, Zhang Yiming, is identified as China’s wealthiest individual, with a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, according to an annual wealth ranking released on Tuesday.
Zhang Yiming, who left as chief executive of ByteDance in 2021, has become the 18th person to hold the title of China’s richest since the Hurun China Rich List was established 26 years ago.
He surpassed bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, who has fallen to second place with a 24% decrease in his fortune to $47.9 billion.
Despite ongoing legal issues regarding its assets in the US, ByteDance experienced a 30% increase in global revenue last year, totalling $110 billion, as reported by Hurun, which significantly boosted Zhang Yiming’s wealth.
In the third spot was Pony Ma, the discreet founder of Tencent, while Colin Huang, the founder of PDD Holdings, dropped to fourth from third place last year, despite his company’s discount-driven e-commerce platforms, Pinduoduo and Temu, experiencing robust revenue growth.
The number of billionaires on the list declined by 142, bringing the total down to 753, a decrease of over one-third from its peak in 2021.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman of the Hurun Report, said, “China’s economy and stock markets faced a challenging year.”
According to him, the most significant losses in wealth were seen in China’s real estate sector, whereas consumer electronics are clearly on the rise, with Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi, adding $5 billion to his fortune this year.
Rupert Hoogewerf, the list’s chief researcher, said, “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.”
“Solar panel makers saw their wealth down as much as 80% from the 2021 peak, while battery and EV makers were down by half and a quarter respectively,” he concluded.