Meet Zhang Yimin, TikTok founder who is now China’s richest person, his net worth is Rs...

Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Ltd., is now China’s richest person, according to Bloomberg. His net worth has reached $57.5 billion, with his wealth increasing by $13.6 billion this year alone, making him the 24th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Following Zhang on the list of China’s wealthiest individuals are Tencent co-founder and CEO Ma Huateng ($56.6 billion), Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan ($54.1 billion), Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun ($44.9 billion), and Pinduoduo founder and former CEO Colin Huang ($43.2 billion). Jack Ma, the Alibaba founder who was once China’s richest person, now ranks sixth with a net worth of $39.6 billion.

Despite his success in creating a platform that launched a new generation of social media influencers, Zhang is known for being highly private. He stepped down as ByteDance’s CEO in 2021 after nearly a decade of leadership. In a 2021 Reuters report, he told employees that he was “not very social” and preferred solitary activities like being online, reading, and listening to music. He also admitted he lacked “some of the skills that make an ideal manager” and preferred a non-managerial role.

Born in 1983 in Fujian province, Zhang’s name is derived from a Chinese proverb meaning “surprising everyone with a first attempt.” His parents were civil servants. He graduated from Nankai University in 2005, initially studying microelectronics before switching to software engineering. He also married his college sweetheart.

Before founding ByteDance in 2012, Zhang worked at companies such as travel booking startup Kuxun and Microsoft. ByteDance’s first product was the AI-powered news aggregator Toutiao, but it later expanded into social media, launching TikTok (originally named Douyin) in September 2016. TikTok has since grown into one of the world’s most popular social networks, with over 170 million users in the U.S. as of September 2024.

However, TikTok’s Chinese ownership has drawn scrutiny from U.S. regulators. In April 2024, the Senate passed a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban starting January 19, 2025. Newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, pausing the ban for 75 days. Unless the rule changes, TikTok has until April 5 to secure a new U.S. owner, with figures like Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and 'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O’Leary expressing interest.