ByteDance's founder is officially number one on China's list of richest people for the first time.
With a net worth of $49.3 billion, Zhang Yiming surpassed the chairperson of Nongfu Spring, who's been atop the list for three consecutive years.
The former richest man in China, Zhong Shansan, had a 24% decline in his wealth, which amounts to $47.9 billion today, per CNBC. ByteDance is a significant contributor to Zhang's net worth, thanks to Tiktok's billion monthly users worldwide.
Last year, ByteDance's profits rose to 30%, and Zhang was in fifth place then.
Wealthy People in China
Hurun Research Institute shared that China now has 1,094 individuals with a net worth exceeding $700 million (5 billion yuan). While it's still an impressive number despite China's economic concerns, it's a 12% decrease (147 individuals) compared to 2023. The overall total health of these individuals also dropped by 10%, or $3 trillion.
Currently, there are only 753 billionaires in China, a 30% since 2021, the year when the country saw a peak number of billionaires (1,185).
The decline can mostly be attributed to the challenges faced by China's economy and stock markets. Those at the top of the list are largely made up of professionals from the technology industry, particularly consumer electronics and energy sectors.
Last year, real estate developers took the first few spots, reflecting the housing crisis the Chinese government is seeking to solve, according to VCPost.
Besides ByteDance, CATL, Midea, Tencent, and Pinduoduo are also on the upper list, and all are increasingly focusing on international markets. TikTok is not the only business expanding globally, Huang also developed Temu in the global e-commerce industry.
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