Zhang Yiming, the co-founder of ByteDance, is now the richest person in China. According to Forbes, his net worth has reached $65.5 billion, making him the 23rd wealthiest person in the world. But who is Zhang Yiming? How did he build such a massive fortune? Let’s take a closer look.

Early Life and Education

Zhang Yiming was born in 1983 in Fujian, China. His parents worked as civil servants. Interestingly, his name comes from a Chinese proverb meaning “surprising everyone with a first attempt,” as reported by South China Morning Post (SCMP). As he pursued higher education, he initially studied microelectronics at Nankai University. However, he later switched to software engineering and graduated in 2005. After completing his studies, he quickly entered the tech world. He first worked at Kuxun, a digital travel booking startup. At the beginning of his career, he was an engineer. However, within just two years, he was already managing a team of 40 to 50 employees. He later explained that this role helped him develop key business skills, especially in sales. As he told SCMP, “At that time, I was responsible for the technology, but when the product had problems, I would actively participate in the discussion of [the] product plan.” Later, he briefly joined Microsoft. However, according to The Washington Post, he left the company because he found the job boring.

Building ByteDance

In 2012, Zhang co-founded ByteDance. According to NDTV Profit, he started the company in his four-bedroom apartment in Beijing. At that time, he was already thinking about big data and machine learning. He wanted to create a platform that could use artificial intelligence to recommend content based on user preferences. Soon after, his work gained attention. In 2013, he was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List in China. By 2015, a key observation gave him a breakthrough idea. While riding the subway, he noticed that fewer people were reading newspapers. This realization led him to believe that smartphones would soon become the primary source of news and information. Moreover, he understood that personalization would be the key to success. By 2017, he had even bigger ambitions. He wanted ByteDance to expand globally. The Washington Post quoted him saying, “If when Chinese companies go overseas, they can overcome cultural problems, will the overseas market be huge? I am both optimistic and pessimistic about this.” That same year, he also revealed his vision for an AI-powered news platform. He explained to Bloomberg, “We push information, not by queries, by news recommendations.” He further emphasized, “We are not a news business. We are more like a search business or a social media platform. We are doing very innovative work. We are not a copycat of a U.S. company, both in product and technology.”

Launching TikTok

In 2016, Zhang launched TikTok, which was initially called Douyin. As part of his leadership approach, he wanted his team to fully understand the app. Therefore, he encouraged all senior executives to create TikTok videos themselves. SCMP quoted him saying, “For a very long time, I was merely watching TikTok videos without making any of them myself, because it’s a product mainly for young people. But later on, we made it compulsory for all management team members to make their own TikTok videos, and they must win a certain number of ‘likes.’ Otherwise, they have to do push-ups. It was a big step for me.” His leadership style quickly gained recognition. Time Magazine described him as “soft-spoken yet charismatic, logical yet passionate, young yet wise.”

Stepping Down as CEO

In 2021, Zhang stepped down as ByteDance’s CEO. According to Forbes, this decision came after pressure from the Chinese government. However, he still holds a 41% stake in the company. Even though he no longer manages daily operations, Zhang remains deeply involved in ByteDance’s future. Moneycontrol reported that he is now focused on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Additionally, he leads the company’s AI hiring team. Recently, he even attracted a top AI engineer from a rival firm by offering a $1.4 million salary.

A Private Life in Singapore

Despite his massive success, Zhang keeps a low profile. In fact, he rarely shares details about his personal life. According to Moneycontrol, he prefers quiet activities such as gaming, reading, e-commerce, and education. Before stepping down as CEO, he admitted to his employees, “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I’m more interested in analyzing organizational and market principles and leveraging these theories to further reduce management work, rather than actually managing people. Similarly, I’m not very social, preferring solitary activities like being online, reading, listening to music, and contemplating what may be possible.” Although he remains a Chinese citizen, he now lives in Singapore. His journey from a young engineer to one of the world’s richest people proves that innovation, strategy, and technology can lead to incredible success.