The net worth of Yiming Zhang, a 38-year-old founder of the company behind TikTok, has reached USD 59.4 billion.
In 2016, ByteDance released what would become the world's most popular app, TikTok. Five years later, Yiming Zhang, the founder of ByteDance, has seen his net worth to USD 59.4 billion, as announced by Forbes on October 20, 2021.
He had surpassed Huateng Ma (net worth of USD 50.4 billion), the founder of Tencent (TCEHY:OTCMKTS), to became the richest man in China's Internet Industry. Shanshan Zhong (net worth of USD 64.3 billion), the richest man in China and the founder of beverage company Nongfu Spring, took a USD 5 billion lead ahead of Zhang.
Zhang and TikTok's success witnessed the transaction of Chinese online entertainment from the traditional internet to the mobile era.
In his letter to employees on the TikTok US sale, Zhang stated: "I am confident in the long-term success of TikTok, and believe we can become an even more trusted product. Together, we have created a platform where hundreds of millions of people come for entertainment and connection, bringing joy and information to our users, including our community of creators and artists who create content, build livelihoods and realize value on the platform. TikTok — a window, canvas and bridge for our user community — is already an important part of global culture."