Zhang Yiming, the co-founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, has become China’s richest person, according to the 2024 Hurun China Rich List. His net worth is estimated at $49.3 billion, driven by a significant 30% increase in ByteDance’s global revenue last year, reaching $110 billion.
TikTok, launched in May 2017, has gained immense popularity worldwide, particularly among younger users, and has become a model for other Chinese firms looking to enter global markets. However, it faces serious legal challenges in the US, where it has nearly 200 million users. TikTok is currently dealing with state and federal lawsuits over concerns about child safety and a new law that could force the app to divest its US operations due to fears that its links to China could compromise user data security. TikTok has denied these allegations, asserting that it prioritizes user safety.
Despite regulatory challenges, TikTok’s appeal continues to grow internationally. Zhang Yiming, who co-founded ByteDance in 2012 with Liang Rubo, previously served as CEO until 2021. He holds a 20% stake in the company, which also operates the popular news app Toutiao and Douyin, its counterpart in China.
Zhang’s rise pushed Zhong Shanshan, known as the “bottled water king,” out of the top spot for the first time in three years. Zhong’s ranking was impacted by nationalist criticism earlier this year. In third place is Pony Ma, founder of Tencent, which operates the widely used messaging and payments platform WeChat.
Decline in China’s Billionaire Count
The number of US-dollar billionaires in China has dropped to 753, a decline of 142 from last year. Since reaching a peak of 1,185 billionaires in 2021, China has lost 432, or just over a third of its wealthy individuals, according to the Hurun Report.
The total count of people on the Hurun list is now 1,094, marking the third consecutive year of decrease. This list includes individuals with a net worth of at least 5 billion yuan (around $700 million) as of the end of August, encompassing those in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of Hurun Report, attributed this decline to a “difficult year” for China’s economy and stock markets. The country is facing serious economic challenges, including a real estate crisis, significant local government debt, and weak consumer spending, raising global concerns about the future of the world’s second-largest economy.
Hoogewerf noted that the number of individuals on the list has fallen by 12% over the past year and by 25% since 2021, when the count peaked at 1,465. He pointed out a shift in wealth dynamics, with traditional sectors like real estate being replaced by emerging industries such as technology, renewable energy, consumer electronics (especially smartphones), cross-border e-commerce, consumer goods, and healthcare.