Rank 28
Zhang Yiming
43B
TikTok
Beijing, Beijing
China
- Zhang Yiming is the main founder of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, best known for its insanely popular app TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide.
- Zhang stepped down as chairman of ByteDance in November 2021 after resigning as CEO in May that year, reportedly under pressure from the Chinese government.
- ByteDance's valuation has taken a hit lately amid speculation that TikTok may be banned in the U.S. market. It also has interests in everything from news and education to video gaming.
- Zhang started ByteDance in 2012 in a four-bedroom Beijing apartment and launched news-aggregation app Toutiao months later.
- He was a member of the 2013 Forbes China 30 Under 30 List.