New Delhi: ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has overtaken Gautam Adani to become Asia’s richest person for the first time, as rising valuations of artificial intelligence businesses reshape the region’s wealth rankings.
The 43-year-old Chinese entrepreneur is worth about USD 105.5 billion, narrowly ahead of Adani’s estimated USD 104.8 billion, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index figures. Since March 2019, Zhang’s fortune has climbed more than eightfold from USD 13 billion.
Who Is Zhang Yiming?
Zhang founded ByteDance in 2012 from a Beijing apartment after working at travel portal Kuxun, Microsoft and property search platform 99fang.com.
He recognised early that smartphones would change how people consumed information. Instead of relying on search terms or social connections, ByteDance used machine-learning algorithms to deliver personalised content.
Its first success was news aggregator Toutiao. ByteDance later launched Douyin in China and TikTok overseas. The purchase of Musical.ly and its merger with TikTok helped turn the short-video app into a worldwide phenomenon.
Zhang stepped down as ByteDance chief executive in 2021 but reportedly retains more than 50% of the company’s voting rights.
AI Push Lifts Fortune
ByteDance’s expansion into generative AI has strengthened investor confidence. Its products include the Doubao chatbot and Seedance video-generation model. Updated valuations from investors including BlackRock, Fidelity and T Rowe Price reportedly added more than USD 12 billion to Zhang’s wealth this month.
His rise follows years of regulatory pressure on TikTok in the United States and tighter scrutiny of technology companies in China.
Who Else Is On The List?
Adani ranks second in Asia with around USD 104.8 billion, followed by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani at USD 81.3 billion.
Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai is next with USD 63.7 billion, while bottled-water billionaire Zhong Shanshan has USD 59.1 billion. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son holds about USD 53.9 billion, followed by CATL chairman Robin Zeng at USD 52.2 billion.
The rankings can change daily because they track market movements and updated company valuations across global markets.
