TikTok founder Zhang tops China’s rich list for first time

TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has topped China’s rich list for the first time, according to Shanghai-based Hurun magazine, which put his fortune at 49.3 billion dollars.

Zhang, 41, belongs to the new generation of Chinese business people who are more internationally focused than their predecessors, according to Hurun.

TikTok owner ByteDance, also founded by Zhang, boosted its global turnover by 30 per cent last year.

TikTok is known as Douyin in China and has 200 million users in the United States alone.

Zhong Shanshan surrendered his top spot on the rich list for the first time in three years.

The 70-year-old’s fortune of 47.9 billion dollars, based in part on bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, put him in second place.

Tencent founder Ma Huateng was in third with his 44.4 billion dollars fortune.

According to Hurun, the number of Chinese dollar billionaires fell last year by 142 to 753.

The high point was reached in 2021, when there were 1,185.

The decline is attributed to China’s lagging economy and poor stock market performance.

dpa/NAN