TikTok parent ByteDance’s founder Zhang Yiming reclaims spot as China’s richest person, thanks to firm’s AI push

October 27, 2026 / 5:35 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Beijing — ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming reclaimed the top spot on a list of China's richest people, driven by his company's push into artificial intelligence.

The rankings released by The Hurun Research Institute on Tuesday reflected that the country's high-tech sectors were rising while others, like the consumer sector and real estate, were under pressure.

The institute, which has published the list annually since 1999, found a record 1,529 people with more than 5 billion yuan (about $750 million), up 6.6% from last year.

The number of billionaires based on their net worth in U.S. dollars rose to 1,176, up 155 people – 176 more than in the U.S. That was slightly below the 1,185 people in 2021.

Zhang topped the list with $100 billion, up 43%, "almost all of it on the back of AI," and the amount was a record high for China's richest person, Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman, said in a statement. Hoogewerf noted that ByteDance's Doubao is China's most used AI assistant.

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Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/