3 weeks ago
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The surging planetary popularity of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its genitor company, ByteDance, go China's richest person.
According to a affluent database produced by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming, is present worthy $49.3bn (£38bn) - 43% much than successful 2023.
The 41 twelvemonth aged stepped down from his relation successful complaint of the institution successful 2021, but is understood to ain astir 20% of the firm.
TikTok has go 1 of the astir fashionable societal media apps successful the world, contempt heavy concerns successful immoderate countries astir its ties to the Chinese state.
While some companies importune they are autarkic of the Chinese government, the US intends to prohibition TikTok successful January 2025 unless ByteDance sells it.
Despite facing that aggravated unit successful the US, ByteDance's planetary nett accrued by 60% past year, driving up Zhang Yiming's idiosyncratic fortune.
“Zhang Yiming is the 18th caller Number One we person had successful China successful conscionable 26 years," said caput of Hurun Rupert Hoogewerf.
"The US, by comparison, has lone 4 Number Ones: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
"This gives an denotation of immoderate of the dynamism successful the Chinese economy."
Mr Zhang is not the lone typical of China's immense tech assemblage connected the list.
Pony Ma, brag of the tech conglomerate, Tencent, is 3rd connected the database with an estimated idiosyncratic wealthiness amounting to £44.4bn.
But their fortunes are not conscionable explained by their companies successes - their rivals person made little successful a twelvemonth successful which China's system has sputtered.
In fact, lone astir 30% of the radical connected the database had an summation successful their nett worthy - the remainder saw a decline.
“The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented 3rd twelvemonth running, arsenic China’s system and banal markets had a hard year," said Mr Hoogewerf.
"The fig of individuals connected the database was down by 12% successful the past twelvemonth to conscionable nether 1100 individuals and 25% from the precocious constituent of 2021."
He said the information showed it had been a bully twelvemonth for smartphone manufacturers specified arsenic Xiaomi, portion the greenish vigor marketplace had stumbled.
“Solar panel, lithium artillery and EV makers person had a challenging year, arsenic contention intensified, starring to a glut, and the menace of tariffs added to uncertainties," helium said.
"Solar sheet makers saw their wealthiness down arsenic overmuch arsenic 80% from the 2021 peak, whilst artillery and EV makers were down by fractional and a 4th respectively."
English (US)