TikTok founder becomes Asia's richest person according to Bloomberg
ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming, whose company created TikTok, has become the richest person in Asia for the first time. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 43-year-old entrepreneur's fortune has exceeded $105 billion, allowing him to surpass Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
According to Bloomberg, Zhang's fortune is now estimated at approximately $105.5 billion. In the global ranking of billionaires, he has risen to 18th place.
Back in March 2019, when Bloomberg began tracking the entrepreneur's fortune, it was estimated at approximately $13 billion. Thus, in less than eight years, his capital has increased more than eightfold.
Over the past month alone, the estimate of Zhang's fortune has grown by more than $12 billion. One of the main reasons was the revaluation of ByteDance's value by major investment firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and T. Rowe Price.
Since ByteDance remains a private company and its shares are not traded on the stock exchange, the estimate of the founder's fortune directly depends on the value of the business in private transactions and investor assessments. Bloomberg additionally applies a 10 percent discount to the value of his stake, accounting for the risks of owning shares in an unlisted company.
ByteDance's main asset remains TikTok — one of the world's largest social platforms. However, in recent years, the company's business in the field of artificial intelligence has been gaining increasing importance for its valuation.
In China, ByteDance develops the AI assistant Doubao, which has become one of the most popular chatbots in the country, as well as the video generator Seedance. The company invests significant funds in training its own models, computing infrastructure, and the development of new AI services.
The growth of Zhang's fortune also followed a reduction in regulatory risks around TikTok in the United States. In 2026, ByteDance transferred part of the platform's American business to a structure involving American investors, which allowed the service to avoid having to cease operations in one of its largest markets.
Before the current ranking change, the richest person in Asia according to Bloomberg was the founder of India's Adani Group, Gautam Adani. His fortune has declined in recent months following a drop in the value of a number of assets amid market volatility, high oil prices, and rising bond yields.
However, estimates of Zhang's fortune vary noticeably depending on the ranking methodology. Forbes, as of September 16, estimates his capital at approximately $84 billion and places him 25th on the list of the world's richest people. The difference is primarily due to different approaches to valuing the private ByteDance.
Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance in 2012. In 2021, he left the post of company CEO and later the position of chairman of the board of directors, but retained a significant stake in the business. In addition to TikTok, ByteDance develops the Chinese platform Douyin, e-commerce services, games, and artificial intelligence-based products.
Based on materials from: Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Forbes, Moneycontrol
