The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, has become China’s richest person with a personal wealth of $49.3 billion according to the annual Hurun China Rich List. Despite stepping down as CEO of ByteDance, Zhang’s wealth increased due to the company’s global revenue growth. Zhong Shanshan, the bottled water magnate, slipped to second place on the list. The number of billionaires on the list decreased by 142 to 753, reflecting a challenging year for China’s economy and stock markets.
Real estate billionaires saw the most significant declines in their fortunes, while consumer electronics billionaires like Xiaomi founder Lei Jun saw an increase in wealth. However, renewable energy sectors like solar panels, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles faced challenges such as intensifying competition and tariff threats, leading to a decrease in wealth for companies in these industries. Solar panel makers saw their wealth decrease by as much as 80% from the previous year, while battery and EV makers were down by half and a quarter, respectively.
Despite the overall decrease in the number of billionaires on the list, Zhang Yiming’s rise to the top spot as China’s richest person highlights the success of tech companies like ByteDance in the global market. The changing landscape of China’s economy and stock markets is reflected in the shifts in wealth among the country’s richest individuals.
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