Zhang Yiming, the creator of ByteDance, has $49.3 billion, making him the richest person in China, according to an annual ranking of wealthy Chinese people published on Tuesday.
Zhang, 41, became the 18th individual to top the Hurun China Rich List since it started 26 years ago when he resigned as CEO of ByteDance in 2021.
He overtook Zhong Shanshan, who owned a company that sold bottled water, whose fortune fell 24% to $47.9 billion, placing him in second position.
Hurun claims that despite ByteDance’s legal troubles over its U.S. operations, the company’s global revenue increased 30% to $110 billion last year. Zhang’s personal wealth increased as a result of this expansion.
Even if his company’s shopping platforms, Pinduoduo and Temu, are still growing rapidly, Colin Huang, the founder of PDD Holdings, fell from third place to fourth place, while Pony Ma, the private creator of Tencent, came in third.
Compared to its peak in 2021, China’s number of billionaires dropped by 142 to 753, more than a third.
According to Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of the Hurun Report, “China’s economy and stock markets had a difficult year.”
He pointed out that while leaders in consumer electronics made money—Microsoft inventor Lei Jun increased his fortune by $5 billion this year—real estate entrepreneurs faced the largest declines in wealth.
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