A major reshuffle in Asia’s billionaires list is in place with ByteDance’s co-founder Zhang Yiming overtaking Mukesh Ambani as the continent's second richest man. Thanks to the growing confidence in its AI business, ByteDance’s valuation and growing confidence in its AI business has been growing, and Zhang’s own wealth has soared.
Zhang Yiming's net worth is $92.8 billion (around ₹7.88 lakh crore) and is Asia's second richest man, and China's richest man. Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, is third with $86.9 billion (around ₹7.38 lakh crore). Indian industrialist Gautam Adani is still the top in Asia with $117.4 billion (nearly ₹9.98 lakh crore).
ByteDance Fuels Zhang’s Wealth Surge
Zhang’s rise has been one of the most extraordinary wealth stories of the last few years. Bloomberg began tracking his fortune in March 2019, when he was worth $13 billion. Since then, his wealth has multiplied by more than sevenfold, in part thanks to ByteDance, the worldwide short-video giant.
ByteDance has been one of the AI giants beyond TikTok, and Doubao is one of China's fastest-growing AI apps and has over 300 million monthly users. Doubao’s success in the AI chatbot market has made investors feel confident in ByteDance’s long-term future growth prospects and thus, a valuation for the company.
Data shows ByteDance is going to expand its AI operations and could spend up to $70 billion this year on AI initiatives. And most of that investment is going to be financed by the company’s estimated $50 billion profit made in 2025.
Why ByteDance’s Valuation Increased
Bloomberg’s reassessment of ByteDance’s valuation helped Zhang’s wealth rise. The valuation review was done with data from BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, HSG, and General Atlantic.
One of the main reasons for the revaluation was the reduced uncertainty around TikTok’s United States operations. In March 2024, Bloomberg had offered ByteDance a 25 per cent risk discount after U.S. lawmakers proposed legislation that would have forced the company to sell TikTok or face a ban in the country.
But the risk perception changed drastically after TikTok's US operations were transferred to a consortium of Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX. After that, Bloomberg reduced the valuation discount from 25 per cent to 10 percent and ByteDance’s worth dramatically increased.
Technology analyst Ke Yan of DZT Research said that removing doubts about TikTok’s US business helped with a big re-rating of ByteDance. Yan also thought the company is still attractive once the valuation is raised, given the financial performance and growth potential.
The Changing Face of Asia Wealth Rankings
The latest rankings illustrate a much larger change in the sources of wealth in Asia. For a long time, energy, infrastructure, ports, telecommunications and retail dominated the region’s billionaire lists. Technology, artificial intelligence and digital platforms are now changing the landscape.
The current top three richest persons in Asia are:
- Gautam Adani – $117.4 billion
- Zhang Yiming – $92.8 billion
- Mukesh Ambani – $86.9 billion
Zhang Yiming's rise shows that AI innovation, social media platforms and private technology valuations are now the drivers of wealth creation. The competition among Asia’s richest people will continue to grow, with ByteDance expanding its AI ambitions in the years to come, and the competition between Asia’s richest individuals may be more extensive.
