ByteDance Founder Zhang Yiming Becomes Asia's Richest Person for First Time, Bolstered by AI Push
On September 16, 2026, Bloomberg reported that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming has become Asia's richest person for the first time, with a net worth exceeding $105 billion, surpassing Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that Zhang, 43, overtook Adani, whose fortune had been affected by recent market pressures. Zhang's wealth has grown roughly eightfold since Bloomberg began tracking it in March 2019, when it stood at $13 billion.
His rise has been supported by TikTok's global popularity and ByteDance's continued investment in AI. ByteDance's AI products include the widely used Doubao chatbot and the video generation model Seedance. The development also reflects ByteDance's renewed upward trajectory.
Zhang's wealth increased by more than $12 billion in September 2026, according to latest estimates from BlackRock, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price. Adani's fortune had reached $120 billion in June before declining in the following months, weighed down by MSCI index weight changes, higher oil prices and rising bond yields.
