For the first time, ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has been named China's richest person, according to a ranking by Hurun Research Institute. He has surpassed Zhong Shanshan, chairperson of Nongfu Spring, who held the top position for three consecutive years.
Zhang, 44, with a personal wealth of $49.3 billion, beat ‘bottled water king’ Zhong, whose wealth dropped 24% to $47.9 billion after a public backlash against his company in February. Zhang was ranked fifth last year.
ByteDance is known for its popular app, TikTok, which has over a billion active monthly users globally. The company’s profits surged around 30% last year, Hurun stated.
Pony Ma Huateng, CEO of Chinese internet giant Tencent, dropped one spot to third place, even as his wealth rose 13% to $44.4 billion amid a jump in Tencent’s revenue and profit.
Colin Huang, founder of the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, was ranked fourth as his wealth declined by 9%. Midea founder He Xiangjian and CATL’s CEO Zeng Yuqun took fifth and sixth places on the list.
According to Hurun Research, China now has 1,094 individuals with wealth exceeding 5 billion yuan ($700 million), marking a 12% decline of 147 individuals compared to the previous year. The total wealth of these entrepreneurs is estimated at $3 trillion, which is also 10% lower than last year.
The country’s billionaire count dropped by 142 to 753 from a year earlier — and down more than 30% from the 2021 high of 1,185.
“The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third year running, as China’s economy and stock markets had a difficult year”, said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher.
The current rich list predominantly comprises entrepreneurs from the technology, consumer electronics, and new energy space, from what used to be dominated by real estate developers, Hoogewerf noted.
“The stories of the individuals on the Hurun China Rich List tell the story of the Chinese economy”, he said.
Hoogewerf noted that the new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs is more global in perspective compared to their predecessors. He highlighted how Zhang Yiming from ByteDance expanded internationally with TikTok, and Huang from Pinduoduo established Temu as a significant global e-commerce platform.