TikTok founder becomes China's richest person as billionaire count declines

Zhang Yiming, co-founder of TikTok's parent company ByteDance, is now China's richest person with a net worth of $49.3 billion, according to the 2024 Hurun China Rich List. His wealth increased as ByteDance's revenue grew 30% last year. The number of billionaires in China has decreased significantly, dropping to 753, down 142 from last year. This decline reflects ongoing economic challenges, including a real estate crisis and high local government debt. Zhong Shanshan, known as the "bottled water king," fell to second place, while Pony Ma of Tencent ranked third. The overall list of billionaires has shrunk for the third consecutive year, indicating a shift in wealth from traditional industries to technology and consumer sectors.