TikTok founder is unveiled as China's richest man as his huge fortune is revealed

The ever-rising fame of TikTok has seen nan laminitis of its genitor institution ByteDance, go China's richest man arsenic his immense luck is revealed.

According to an yearly rich | database produced by nan Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming is now worthy a staggering £38billion - 43 per cent much than successful 2023.

The 41-year-old, who stepped down arsenic the chief executive of ByteDance successful 2021, has go nan 18th individual to beryllium crowned China's richest personification successful nan 26 years since nan Hurun China Rich List was first published. 

Yiming is understood to still ain astir 20 per cent of nan firm, arsenic he overtook bottled h2o magnate Zhong Shanshan, who slipped to 2nd spot arsenic his luck dropped 24 per cent to£36.8billion    

TikTok has go 1 of nan astir celebrated societal media apps successful nan world, pinch complete 1 cardinal users, contempt concerns successful immoderate countries astir its ties to nan Chinese state.

While some companies insist they are independent of nan Chinese government, nan US is group to prohibition TikTok successful January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it.

Legislation successful nan US was passed by nan House of Representatives earlier this year.

If nan measure becomes law, nan proprietor of nan celebrated video-sharing app will person 9 months to find a buyer, pinch a imaginable three-month hold while a waste is successful progress, aliases look a ban.

The FBI has issued a stark informing that ByteDance could stock personification data, specified arsenic hunt history, location, and biometric finders, pinch China's authoritarian government.

TikTok has denied ever doing this. 

But contempt a ineligible conflict complete its US assets, ByteDance's world gross grew 30 per cent past twelvemonth to £84.6billion, Hurun said, helping to propel Zhang's individual fortune. 

'Zhang Yiming is nan 18th caller Number One we person had successful China successful conscionable 26 years,' said caput of Hurun Rupert Hoogewerf.

'The US, by comparison, has only 4 Number Ones: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

'This gives an denotation of immoderate of nan dynamism successful nan Chinese economy.'

Zhang stepped down arsenic president of ByteDance successful 2021 aft resigning arsenic CEO earlier that year, reportedly nether unit from nan Chinese government.

He started nan business successful 2012 successful a four-bedroom Beijing apartment. 

Third connected Hurun's list was Tencent's low-profile founder, Pony Ma, while Colin Huang, laminitis of PDD Holdings, slipped to 4th spot from 3rd past year, moreover arsenic his firm's discount-focused e-commerce platforms, Pinduoduo and Temu, proceed to show patient gross growth.

The number of billionaires connected nan database dropped by 142 to 753, shrinking much than a 3rd from its 2021 peak.

'China's system and banal markets had a difficult year,' said Hurun Report Chairman Rupert Hoogewerf.

The astir melodramatic falls successful fortunes person travel from China's existent property sector, he added, while user electronics is intelligibly rising fast, pinch Xiaomi laminitis Lei Jun adding £3.8billion to his wealthiness this year.

'Solar panel, lithium artillery and EV makers person had a challenging year, arsenic title intensified, starring to a glut, and nan threat of tariffs added to uncertainties,' said Hoogewerf, who is besides nan list's main researcher.

'Solar sheet makers saw their wealthiness down arsenic overmuch arsenic 80 per cent from nan 2021 peak, while artillery and EV makers were down by half and a 4th respectively.'