ByteDance founder beats Tencent and Nongfu Head to top China's richest list for first time

ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has emerged as China's richest person for the first time, according to a list compiled by the Hurun Research Institute, overtaking Nongfu Spring chairperson Zhang Shanshan who has topped the ranking for three years.

Zhang, 44, who has a personal fortune of $49.3 billion, beat out 'bottled water king' Zhang, whose fortune fell 24% to $47.9 billion in February after a public backlash against his company. Zhang was fifth last year.

ByteDance is known for its popular app TikTok, which has over one billion active monthly users worldwide. The company's profits rose nearly 30% last year, Hurun said.

Pony Ma Huateng, CEO of Chinese Internet giant Tencent, fell one place to third, even as her wealth rose 13% to $44.4 billion amid growth in Tencent's revenue and profit.

Colin Huang, founder of e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, was in fourth place as his wealth fell by 9%. Midea founder He Xiangjian and CATL CEO Zheng Yukun are fifth and sixth on the list.

According to Hurun Research, 1,094 individuals in China have assets worth more than 5 billion yuan ($700 million), down 12% or 147 from the previous year. The combined wealth of these entrepreneurs is $3 trillion, down 10% from last year.

The number of billionaires in the country fell by 142 to 753 from a year ago – and is down more than 30% from a peak of 1,185 in 2021.

“Hurun China's rich list shrank for an unprecedented third straight year, as China's economy and stock market had a tough year,” said Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf.

The current rich list mainly includes entrepreneurs from the technology, consumer electronics and new energy spaces, which were previously dominated by real estate developers, Hoogewerf noted.

“The story of Hurun China's rich people tells the story of China's economy,” he said.

The new generation of Chinese entrepreneurs is also more international than their predecessors, Hoogewerf observed, noting how ByteDance's Zhang went global with TikTok and Pinduoduo's Huang Temur's ascent as a global e-commerce hub.