TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has become China’s richest man with a fortune of around $50bn (£38bn).
The 41-year-old, dubbed the “King of Short Videos”, topped China’s Hurun Rich List for the first time with $49.3bn (£37.9bn).
Mr. Yiming stepped down as CEO of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, in 2021.
He is the 18th person to be crowned China’s richest person in the 26 years since the inception of the Hurun China Rich List.
He ousted bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, who fell to second place as his wealth fell by 24% to $47.9 billion (£36.8 billion).
A number of billionaires on the list witnessed a decline in their wealth over the past year due to the difficult economic conditions in China.
This comes during a legal battle over ByteDance’s assets in the United States TikTok could be banned in the US next year Unless the parent company completes the sale amid accusations that it provides data to the Chinese government – which it denies.
The House of Representatives passed this legislation earlier this year.
If the bill becomes law, the owner of the popular video-sharing app would have nine months to find a buyer, with the possibility of a three-month extension during the sale process, or face a ban.
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The FBI has warned that ByteDance may share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with China’s authoritarian government.
TikTok said it never did that and wouldn’t do it if asked to do so.
Despite the battle, ByteDance’s global revenues grew 30% last year, and Mr Yiming still has a stake in it, helping boost his personal wealth.
The Chinese economy has had a difficult year and continues to lag in the wake of the coronavirus, with a real estate crisis and a volatile stock market.