ByteDance founder tops China's rich list with a net worth of $350 Billion

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has claimed the crown of China’s wealthiest individual, amassing a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, according to the Hurun China Rich List released Tuesday (Oct 29).

Aged 41, he is the first person born in the 1980s to top China's rich list.

ByteDance's strong performance and significant user base of its TikTok app in the United States contributed to Zhang's increased wealth.

A total of 967 on last year's list saw their wealth decrease of remain unchanged, 201 dropped off the list and 331 saw their wealth increase. Meanwhile, 54 new faces joined the list.

Shanghai is the location of residence for 112 rich entrepreneurs, overtaking Shenzhen for the first time in more than 10 years to become the second largest city with the most entrepreneurs on the list, following Beijing with 115.

Zhang’s ascent to the top spot displaced bottled water mogul Zhong Shanshan, whose wealth fell by 24% to $47.9 billion.

ByteDance’s global revenue growth of 30% last year, reaching $110 billion despite legal challenges over its U.S. assets, fueled Zhang’s rise, Hurun reported.

Tencent founder Pony Ma claimed the third spot, while Colin Huang, founder of PDD Holdings, dropped to fourth despite continued revenue growth for Pinduoduo and Temu, his discount e-commerce platforms.

The number of individuals on the risk list shrank 25% from the peak level of 2021, and half of the entrepreneurs on this year's list were not on the list just five years ago, pointing to the shift of wealth from the old to the new.

The old guard, represented by real estate developers, has given way to the new generation who made their wealth from tech, new energy, consumer electronics, especially smart phones, e-commerce", Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher said.

"These new generations of entrepreneurs in China are also more international than their predecessors, that includes Chris Xu with fast fashion apps Shein and Cai Haoyu with online gaming platform Mihoyo, in addition to the well-known names Zhang Yiming and Pinduoduo's Huang Zheng," he added.