ByteDance founder tops China's richest list, ahead of Tencent CEO and Nongfu chairman

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming did this for the first time He became the richest person in China, According to the list compiled by the Hurun Research Institute, leaving behind Nongfu Spring president Zhong Shanshan who topped the rankings for three years.

Zhang, 44, whose personal fortune is $49.3 billion, overtook “bottled water king” Zhong, whose wealth fell 24 percent to $47.9 billion after a public backlash against his company in February. It was Chang Fifth place last year.

ByteDance is best known for its popular app TikTok, which has died One billion monthly active users Worldwide. Huron stated that the company's profits increased by about 30% last year.

Pony Ma Huateng, CEO of Chinese internet giant Tencent, fell one spot to third place, despite his wealth rising 13% to $44.4 billion amid a jump in Tencent's revenues and profits.

Colin Huang, founder of e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, ranked fourth, with his wealth declining by 9%. Midea founder He Xiangjian and CATL CEO Zeng Yuqun ranked fifth and sixth on the list.

China has 1,094 individuals whose wealth exceeds 5 billion yuan ($700 million), down 12% or 147 individuals from the previous year, according to Hurun Research. The combined wealth of these businessmen reached $3 trillion, 10% less than last year.

The number of billionaires in the country fell by 142 to 753 compared to the previous year, down more than 30% from the 2021 high of 1,185.

“The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third year in a row, as the Chinese economy and stock markets have had a difficult year,” said Robert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report president and chief researcher.

Hoogwerf noted that the current rich list mostly includes entrepreneurs from technology, consumer electronics and the new energy field, which used to be dominated by real estate developers.

“The stories of the individuals included in Hurun's China Rich List tell the story of the Chinese economy,” he said.

The new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs has also become more international than their predecessors, Hoogewerf noted, citing how ByteDance's Zhang went global through TikTok and how Pinduoduo's Huang contributed to Temu's rise as a global e-commerce hub.