Founder of ByteDance Zhang Yiming tops the list of China's richest people, according to the Hurun Research Institute, although many of them have seen their net worth sink over the past year.
The institute, which publishes the annual Hurun China Rich List, found that the total wealth of businessmen on the list this year was $3 trillion, down 10 percent from the previous year.
The number of billionaires based on their net worth in US dollars also fell by 142 to 753. Hurun counted 1,185 billionaires as of 2021.
“The Hurun China Rich List has shrunk for an unprecedented third consecutive year as China's economy and stock markets have had a difficult year,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, president and chief researcher of the Hurun report.
ByteDance's Zhang came in at No. 1 for the first time this year, with a net worth of $49.3 billion, according to Hurun. ByteDance, the parent company of popular short video platforms Douyin and TikTok, saw its revenue grow to $110 billion last year.
He is also the first person born in the 1980s to top the Hurun list.
Bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan slipped to second place in 2024 with $47.9 billion after its Nongfu Spring brand faced a backlash in February when consumers accused it of disloyalty to China over its bottle designs.
The backlash wiped out billions in market value for Nongfu Spring.
In third place is Tencent founder Pony Ma with a net worth of $44.4 billion as the gaming company saw its revenue grow.
This year's China Rich List had just 54 new names added to the list, the lowest figure in two decades. New additions include Charlwin Mao and Miranda Qu Fang, the founders of Xiaohongshu, a social media and lifestyle platform popular with young users.
China's economy has been left behind in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the country faces a real estate crisis and a volatile stock market. Policymakers are expected to unveil significant stimulus measures to encourage consumption and spending, which have slowed in recent months.
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