As the number of billionaires dwindles, the founder of TikTok parent company ByteDance jumps to the top of China’s richest list

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SHANGHAI – ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming is China’s richest man, with a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, according to an annual rich list released on Tuesday, although peers in real estate and renewable energy underperformed.

Zhang, 41, resigned as CEO of TikTok parent company ByteDance in 2021, becoming the 18th individual to be elected as China’s richest man in the 26 years since the Hurun China Rich List was first released.

He overtook bottled water tycoon Shanshan Zhong, whose wealth fell 24% to second place, to $47.9 billion.

Hurun said that despite ByteDance’s U.S. assets facing legal disputes, its global revenue grew 30% last year to $110 billion, which helped boost Zhang’s personal wealth.

In third place is Tencent’s low-profile founder Ma Huateng, while Pinduoduo founder Huang Ke slipped to fourth place from third last year, although the company’s discount e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and Temu continue to show healthy revenue growth.

The number of billionaires on the list fell by 142 to 753, down more than a third from the 2021 peak.

“China’s economy and stock market have gone through a difficult year,” Hurun Report chairman Hurun said.

He added that the sharpest decline in wealth has come from China’s real estate sector, while consumer electronics is clearly growing rapidly, with Xiaomi founder Lei Jun adding $5 billion to his fortune this year.

“Manufacturers of solar panels, lithium batteries and electric vehicles have experienced a challenging year as competition intensified, leading to oversupply, while the threat of tariffs increased uncertainty,” said Hurun, who is also the lead researcher for the list.

“Solar panel makers’ wealth is down 80% from their 2021 peak, while battery and electric car makers’ fortunes have fallen by half and a quarter respectively.”

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