TikTok billionaire Zhang Yiming overtakes Mukesh Ambani as Asia’s No. 2 richest
Zhang Yiming, the co-founder of ByteDance, has overtaken Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani to become Asia’s second-richest person, driven by a surge in the Chinese technology giant’s valuation and continued progress in its artificial intelligence ambitions, News.Az reports, citing The Straits Times.
Zhang’s net worth rose to US$92.8 billion (S$118.7 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, securing his position as China’s richest individual.
His wealth has increased more than sevenfold since Bloomberg began tracking his fortune in March 2019, when he was valued at US$13 billion.
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The sharp increase comes amid the continued global success of TikTok, as well as strong growth in ByteDance’s artificial intelligence product Doubao, which has surpassed 300 million monthly users and become the most widely used chatbot in China.
Earlier in 2026, ByteDance also transferred parts of its US business to American investors.
“The jump in valuation reflects the company’s strong fundamentals and the success of its apps such as Doubao in China,” said Amy Lin, Shanghai-based analyst at Capital Securities.
“The developments in the US are unlikely to have a major negative impact.”
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index applied a 25% risk discount to ByteDance’s valuation after the US House of Representatives passed a bill in March 2024 to ban TikTok’s operation in the country unless its Chinese owner sold the app.
That discount was later reduced to 10% on June 2, reflecting the completion of the US sale as well as initial post-spinoff valuations provided by institutional investors in regulatory filings published in late May.
Zhang’s wealth increased by more than US$24 billion after Bloomberg analyzed updated valuations from investors including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and T. Rowe Price Group, as well as figures provided by HSG and General Atlantic in May.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Gautam Adani moved ahead of Ambani in the rankings, pushing Ambani down to third place in Asia, with a net worth of US$86.9 billion. Gautam Adani retained the region’s top position at US$117.4 billion.
ByteDance remains China’s highest-profile private company. The success of its Doubao AI chatbot has prompted the company to prepare plans for subscription fees, which is unusual in China, where users have traditionally been reluctant to pay for online services.
The company has long been viewed as a leading candidate for a future initial public offering (IPO).
Its global profile remained strong even after TikTok’s US operations were transferred to a consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
That move ended years of political and regulatory uncertainty over concerns raised by critics about potential national security risks.
The Beijing-based social media leader is now heavily focused on artificial intelligence.
It is reportedly discussing spending up to US$70 billion in 2026 to lead China’s AI sector and compete with major US technology companies globally, according to Bloomberg News reports from May.
Much of this investment is expected to be financed by approximately US$50 billion in profit generated in 2025.
“Removing the US overhang unlocked the re-rating of the remaining ByteDance entity,” said Ke Yan, Singapore-based technology analyst at DZT Research.
“Even with the re-rating, the valuation still looks cheap on fundamentals.”
By Nijat Babayev
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