ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming unseats Gautam Adani to become Asia’s richest person
Zhang built his fortune through ByteDance's global social media platform TikTok, but the company's growth is increasingly being driven by artificial intelligence initiatives, including its Doubao chatbot and Seedance video-generation tool
ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become Asia's richest person, with a net worth exceeding $105 billion, overtaking Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Zhang's fortune has grown more than eightfold from $13 billion in March 2019, with his wealth recently increasing by more than $12 billion following updated private valuations from firms including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price, says Bloomberg.
Zhang built his fortune through ByteDance's global social media platform TikTok, but the company's growth is increasingly being driven by artificial intelligence initiatives, including its Doubao chatbot and Seedance video-generation tool.
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The shift reflects a broader trend in Asia, where AI-driven businesses are contributing to the creation of new fortunes alongside wealth built in traditional energy and industrial sectors.
ByteDance has also sought to address years of regulatory and geopolitical uncertainty surrounding TikTok in the US. Earlier this year, the company transferred parts of the app's US operations to American investors.
AI services represent ByteDance's biggest opportunity beyond social video, although intense competition in China's domestic market remains a risk.
Bloomberg applies a 10% risk discount to Zhang's fortune because ByteDance remains privately held.
