BEIJING (AFP) – Founder of TikTok parent company ByteDance Zhang Yiming saw his personal fortune fall by USD17 billion last year, according to a new Chinese ranking published yesterday.
The reasons for the losses are unknown, but Zhang is still the second-richest entrepreneur in the world under the age of 40, with wealth valued at USD37 billion, according to statistics published by the Chinese firm Hurun.
Ahead of him is Mark Zuckerberg, boss of United States (US) tech giant Meta – the owner of Facebook and Instagram – whose fortune was estimated by Hurun at USD68 billion.
According to the ranking, Zuckerberg also lost money last year to the tune of USD8 billion.
Zhang co-founded ByteDance in Beijing in 2012, but resigned from the group in 2021 in the midst of regulatory tightening on China’s tech industry.
ByteDance’s success in China’s highly competitive Internet sector has been largely thanks to its popular short video app Douyin.
The app is the most valuable start-up globally, with a market capitalisation of USD200 billion, according to Hurun.
