ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming's Fortune Surges Sevenfold, Making Him Asia's Second Richest Person

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become the second-richest person in Asia, trailing only India’s Gautam Adani. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 43-year-old ranks 21st globally with a fortune of $92.8 billion. Adani, the richest person in Asia, holds a wealth of $118 billion, while Yiming has overtaken Mukesh Ambani, who ranks 21st with $84 billion. Zhang’s wealth has increased more than sevenfold since Bloomberg began tracking his fortune in March 2019, when it stood at $13 billion. The surge has been fuelled by ByteDance, the company behind the wildly successful short-video app TikTok and the AI chatbot Doubao, which boasts more than 300 million monthly users and is the most popular in China. At the end of last year, ByteDance sold a portion of TikTok’s ownership in the United States. Under the new corporate structure, ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in the US entity, with the remainder held by new investors, including the investment firm Silver Lake and the Saudi Arabian investment company MGX. ‘The valuation increase reflects the company’s strong fundamentals and the success of its applications, such as Doubao in China,’ said Capital Securities analyst Amy Lin. She added that developments in the US are unlikely to have a significant negative impact. The TikTok transaction has not diminished the company’s image, and ByteDance is considered a prime candidate for a future initial public offering. The company is also embroiled in the intense AI industry race and is reportedly discussing spending up to $70 billion in 2026 in a bid to lead China’s AI market and challenge major US players. The majority of this investment is expected to be financed from 2025 profits of $50 billion.