Who is Zhang Yiming? ByteDance co-founder defeats Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos in 2025 wealth gains race

ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming has seen a surge of about $14 billion to his fortune since the beginning of 2025.

Updated on: Apr 9, 2025, 19:46:01 IST

By Shweta Kukreti

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ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming has seen a surge of about $14 billion to his fortune since the beginning of 2025. On the other side, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, have respectively seen $135 billion and $43 billion declines in their net worth so far this year,

ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming's net worth has increased by 31% this year to $57.5 billion. (Reuters)

Zhang's net worth has increased by 31% this year to $57.5 billion.

Zhang, the 41-year-old software engineer, has surpassed Tencent founder and CEO Pony Ma as the richest person in China. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ma enjoys a net worth of $56.5 billion.

Zhang Yiming becomes China's richest person and the third-richest person in Asia

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhang has successfully become the richest person in China and the third-richest person in Asia, trailing only Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.

ByteDance, a Beijing-based parent company of popular video-sharing app TikTok and news aggregator Toutiao, made over $110 billion in 2023.

Zhang is a very reclusive individual, and not much about his personal life is known to the general world.

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In 2021, Zhang, who had been the CEO of ByteDance for about ten years, reportedly told staff members that he is “not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible.”

“The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager,” Zhang said at the time, according to Reuters, saying he would be a better help to the company in a role that didn't involve managing people directly.

Zhang reportedly told Reuters at the time, “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager,” stating that he would benefit the company more in a position that did not directly entail managing people.

Know about other billionaires wealth including Musk and Bezos

Warren Buffett and Jeff Yass are two more billionaires who have increased their wealth by more than $10 billion this year, with a profit of $11.5 billion each.

The fourth-richest person in the world, Buffett's net worth has surged to $153.5 billion. Zhang Yiming, meanwhile, is ranked 23rd in the world.

Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has experienced the most severe losses. On Monday, shares of Tesla Inc. fell as much as 17.5% in just three sessions, wiping off $159 billion in market capitalization and lowering Tesla's valuation to $750 billion. As of December 2024, Musk owned over 42% of SpaceX and 13% of Tesla, which were valued at close to $350 billion.

Other tech behemoths have also suffered significant losses. Since January, the fortunes of Bezos and Larry Ellison of Oracle have dropped by $43 billion and $45 billion, respectively.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shweta Kukreti
Shweta Kukreti has over 8 years of experience in covering Indian and world politics. She joined the Hindustan Times in 2024 and is primarily assigned to the US desk. She currently works as Deputy Chief Content Producer and reports on a wide range of topics, including US politics, immigration issues (especially H-1B visa) and major global events. Shweta strongly emphasizes team operations, which encompasses monitoring news, delegating tasks, editing, developing comprehensive coverage strategies, and crafting engaging, and data-informed narratives. She received the Digi Star Award at the Hindustan Times within a year of joining for her broad coverage of US politics. In 2025, she earned both a promotion and a redesignation, a significant achievement recognising her contributions and the strong value she brings to the team. She has previously worked with the Indian Express, HTDS, ANI and Republic World. Seniors in all the media organisations recognised her work. Regarding education, she earned a BA (Hons.) in Political Science and a master's degree from Delhi University, and she pursued a PG Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institution of Mass Communication (IIMC). She also holds a diploma in Women's Empowerment and Development from IGNOU University and a French certification course from Alliance Française de Delhi. If not working, you can find her exploring the hills and engaging in adventurous activities in Rishikesh and Himachal Pradesh. She loves to play badminton, volleyball, and chess, and spend time with her friends and family. She also enjoys spiritual activities.Read More

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