TikTok is a short-form video app that has experienced incredible growth since launching in 2016. Originally launched as Douyin in China, TikTok quickly became a global phenomenon under its parent company ByteDance. Some key facts about TikTok’s rapid growth:
- TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2018 and 2019.
- TikTok hit 1 billion monthly active users in 2021.
- TikTok has around 1.5 billion monthly active users as of 2023, making it one of the most popular social media platforms.
- TikTok was downloaded more than 310 million times in the first quarter of 2022 alone.
- The amount of time spent per day watching TikTok continues to grow exponentially. The average user now spends around 52 minutes per day on the app.
With its short videos, viral trends and powerful algorithm, TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon and online force. This explosive growth is why many are interested in just how much TikTok’s founder Zhang Yiming is worth.
The Creator: Zhang Yiming
Zhang Yiming was born in 1983 in Longyan, China. He graduated from Nankai University in 2005 with a degree in software engineering (The Success Story Of Zhang Yiming, Founder Of Tiktok).
After graduation, Zhang worked at Kuxun, a travel website, which was later acquired by TripAdvisor (Zhang Yiming | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry). He then worked at Fanfou, one of China’s earliest social media networks, before founding ByteDance in 2012.
With ByteDance, Zhang found success developing news aggregation apps in China including Toutiao and TopBuzz. This experience with content recommendation algorithms would later prove invaluable in the development of TikTok (Zhang Yiming).
Founding of TikTok
TikTok was created by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. The original version of TikTok was launched in China in September 2016 under the name Douyin (Chinese: 抖音). Douyin was created and designed by ByteDance employees Alex Zhu and Luyu Yang as an short-video sharing platform for the Chinese market.
In 2017, ByteDance launched a version of Douyin for markets outside of China under the name TikTok. TikTok merged the features of Douyin with another ByteDance app called Musical.ly, which ByteDance had acquired in 2017. Musical.ly was a lip-sync video app that had gained significant popularity in the United States. Combining Musical.ly’s user base and video creation tools with the core features of Douyin allowed TikTok to gain quick traction globally.
Within its first year of launching outside of China, TikTok had been downloaded over 100 million times worldwide and started becoming extremely popular among teenagers and young adults in the United States. By early 2019, TikTok passed Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat in monthly installs. As of 2022, TikTok has been downloaded over 3 billion times globally and continues to grow in popularity.
TikTok’s Rise to Prominence
TikTok was launched in September 2016 by ByteDance, initially under the name Douyin in China. The app quickly gained popularity in China thanks to its fun short videos and sophisticated AI recommendation system. By 2018, Douyin had over 500 million monthly active users in China.
TikTok was then launched internationally under this name in August 2018. It became available in over 150 markets and in 75 languages. TikTok was focused on entering markets outside of China. The app attracted young users with its quirky memes and viral challenges.
By early 2020, TikTok had been downloaded over 2 billion times globally on both iOS and Android devices. It became one of the most downloaded apps in Apple’s iOS store, surpassing tech giants like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat in total downloads [1]. TikTok’s monthly active users exceeded 500 million globally by the end of 2020.
TikTok continued its meteoric rise, reaching 1 billion monthly active users in 2021. As of 2022, TikTok has been downloaded over 3.5 billion times and has over 1 billion active users globally across over 150 countries. It has become one of the fastest growing and most popular social media platforms in the world.
TikTok’s Valuation
TikTok has grown tremendously in valuation since its launch. In 2018, just two years after launching, ByteDance was valued at $75 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world at the time (Forbes). In 2020, estimates put TikTok’s valuation between $50-60 billion (Nasdaq).
In 2022, ByteDance reached an overall valuation of $140 billion. As TikTok continued growing rapidly,ByteDance was valued at $180 billion in early 2023. By the end of 2023, estimates put ByteDance’s valuation at $220 billion, making it the most valuable private company in the world (Forbes). The vast majority of ByteDance’s value comes from TikTok, cementing its status as one of the most valuable tech companies globally.
Looking ahead, analysts predict TikTok’s brand value will reach $80 billion by 2024 as it continues to grow in popularity worldwide (Statista). TikTok has quickly become one of the most highly-valued social media platforms and shows no signs of slowing down.
Zhang Yiming’s Net Worth
Zhang Yiming has amassed an immense fortune as the founder of ByteDance, the company behind the massively popular social media app TikTok. Estimates of his current net worth vary, but most place it between $30-50 billion.
According to Business Insider, Zhang Yiming had a net worth of $16.2 billion as of 2019. His fortune has grown rapidly alongside ByteDance’s meteoric rise and TikTok’s global success.
As of early 2023, Wealthy Gorilla estimates Zhang Yiming’s net worth to be around $44 billion, making him one of the richest people in China.
Forbes also ranked Zhang as #36 on their Billionaires 2022 list, with an estimated net worth of $35 billion at the time.
Clearly, Zhang Yiming has become extremely wealthy from founding ByteDance and TikTok. With TikTok’s continued growth, his net worth will likely continue rising substantially in the years ahead.
How Much of ByteDance Does Zhang Own?
Zhang Yiming owns about 20% of ByteDance, according to testimony given by TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in March 2023. Bloomberg reported that Chew revealed this ownership stake, which is lower than some previous estimates that put Zhang’s stake closer to 30%.
As the founder of ByteDance, Zhang has significant equity in the company. However, ByteDance has raised billions of dollars in funding over the years, diluting Zhang’s ownership percentage. Major investors like Sequoia Capital and SoftBank also own sizable stakes.
While Zhang’s 20% stake is substantial, it does mean the majority of ByteDance is owned by other shareholders. This could impact Zhang’s decision-making power and control of the company going forward. But as founder and a major individual shareholder, he still wields considerable influence over ByteDance and its prized assets like TikTok.
Other Major Shareholders
In addition to Zhang Yiming, ByteDance has several other major shareholders that own significant stakes in the company. According to The China Project, as of November 2021, 60% of ByteDance shares were owned by global investors. Some of the major shareholders include:
– Sequoia Capital – One of ByteDance’s earliest investors, with a stake of about 20%.
– General Atlantic – A global growth equity firm that invested $1 billion in ByteDance in 2018.
– KKR – The investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts owns about 2% of ByteDance.
– SoftBank – The Japanese conglomerate made a significant investment in ByteDance in 2018.
– Susquehanna International Group – An American quant trading firm that also invested early in ByteDance.
While Zhang Yiming maintains majority control, these firms and other global investors own significant minority stakes in ByteDance and share in its success.
Zhang’s Philanthropy
Although Zhang Yiming is known for being notoriously private about his personal life, he has participated in some high-profile philanthropic initiatives. According to Cashu Invest, Zhang launched a charitable foundation in 2014 that has funded various educational programs and research projects.
One major area of focus for Zhang’s philanthropy is advancing technology education and skills training. His foundation has partnered with universities and vocational schools to establish scholarships, workshops, and other programs aimed at preparing students for careers in fields like artificial intelligence and engineering. For example, Zhang contributed $14 million to establish an AI institute at Tsinghua University, one of China’s top technology universities.
Zhang has also made donations to support public health causes. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck China in early 2020, he reportedly gave $100 million to purchase and distribute medical supplies in heavily impacted regions. His philanthropic responses to major crises and disasters have helped strengthen his reputation in China as a business leader who gives back.
While Zhang does not publicize all of his charitable giving, his known donations reflect a long-term vision for supporting technology, education, healthcare, and scientific research. By leveraging his fortune as TikTok’s owner, Zhang aims to make broad social impacts aligned with his business philosophy and areas of personal interest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Zhang Yiming has built an incredibly successful and influential company in ByteDance and its crown jewel app TikTok. While the exact details of his ownership stake and net worth are not public knowledge, it is clear that he holds a significant share of ByteDance and is likely worth billions of dollars. Though very private about his personal wealth and ownership, his massive business success at a relatively young age has cemented his status as one of the wealthiest and most powerful tech entrepreneurs in China.
Beyond just his personal fortune, Zhang’s impact through TikTok on internet culture and the content creation landscape cannot be overstated. Within just a few years, TikTok has become a dominant force in social media and already boasts over 1 billion monthly active users globally. It has launched countless viral stars and trends, disrupted the content and entertainment industries, and even challenged tech giants like Facebook. While controversial at times, Zhang’s vision for an artificial intelligence-driven content platform has clearly resonated worldwide.
At just 39 years old, Zhang Yiming’s entrepreneurial journey is far from over. If ByteDance continues its rapid growth, his wealth and influence seem poised to keep rising in the years ahead. However, he has already left a huge mark by creating one of the most powerful social apps in history with TikTok and achieving remarkable business success and personal wealth along the way.
