ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming Becomes The Richest Person In China, His Assets Are 8 Times The Jakarta Regional Budget

JAKARTA - Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, managed to occupy the top position on the list of the richest people in China with personal assets reaching 49.3 billion US dollars (Rp777 trillion), according to the annual Hurun China Rich List report on Tuesday, October 29. This property is more than eight times the 2025 Jakarta APBD amounting to Rp91.14 trillion

Zhang, who is 41 years old, became the 18th person to win the title in 26 years of the publication history of this wealth list. He succeeded in displacing Zhong Shanshan, a drinking water entrepreneur, who dropped to second place with a wealth of 47.9 billion US dollars (Rp754.9 trillion) after a 24-percent decline.

Despite facing legal challenges related to its assets in the US, ByteDance's global revenue rose by 30% last year, reaching 110 billion US dollars, which also boosted Zhang's personal fortune.

In third place was Tencent founder Pyth Ma, while Colin Huang of PDD Holdings had to be willing to go down to fourth place, although his businesses like Pinduoduo and Temu still showed solid revenue growth.

The number of billionaires on this list has shrunk to 753 people, down 142 from last year, as China's economy and stock markets face challenges. The biggest decline in wealth was seen in China's real estate sector, while consumer electronics actually increased rapidly. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun has even increased his fortune by 5 billion US dollars this year (Rp78.8 trillion).

According to Rupert Hoogewerf, the Head of Hurun Report, the solar panel sector, lithium batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs) experienced a decline due to intense competition, overproduction, and tariff threats that increased uncertainty. The wealth of solar panel entrepreneurs has fallen by 80% from the peak of 2021, while battery and EV entrepreneurs have decreased by half and a quarter.