Zhang Yimingthe founder of the parent company of TikTok, ByteDancelost $17 billion of his personal fortune last year, according to a Chinese firm’s ranking.
The reasons for these losses are not known, but despite the bump, Zhang remains the second richest entrepreneur under 40, with a fortune estimated at $37 billion, according to statistics from Chinese firm Hurun.
Ahead of Zhang is Mark Zuckerberg, the head of U.S. giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, whose fortune is estimated by Hurun at $68 billion.
Zhang co-founded ByteDance in Beijing in 2012, but resigned from the conglomerate in 2021 following the tightening of regulation to the technology industry in China.
Now Zhang, who is Chinese, lives in Singapore.
TikTok in trouble
The success of ByteDance in the competitive Chinese market is largely due to its popular Douyin video application.
Its international version, TikTokis very popular with teenagers around the world, but national security fears are creating uncertainty about its future in many countries.
Several critics claim that TikTok allows the Chinese government access to user data around the world, an accusation the company denies.(AFP)
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