TikTok founder Zhang Yiming becomes China's richest man with a fortune of nearly $50 billion | World News

TikTok founder Zhang Yiming has become China's richest man with a fortune of almost $50 billion (£38 billion).

The 41-year-old, dubbed the “King of Short Videos”, tops the Hurun China Rich List for the first time with $49.3 billion (£37.9 billion).

Mr. Yiming stepped down as CEO of ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, in 2021.

He is the 18th person to be named China's richest person in the 26 years since the Hurun China Rich List began.

He dethroned bottled water tycoon Zhong Shanshan, who slipped to second place as his fortune fell 24% to $47.9 billion (£36.8 billion).

Some of the billionaires on the list experienced a decline in their wealth last year due to the difficult economic situation in China.

This comes amid a legal battle over ByteDance's US assets TikTok could be banned in the US next year Unless the parent company makes a sale amid allegations that it is sharing data with the Chinese government – which it denies.

The bill was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year.

If the bill takes effect, the owner of the popular video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a possible three-month extension while a sale is underway, or face a ban.

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The FBI has warned that ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers to China's authoritarian government.

TikTok has said it has never done this and wouldn't do it if asked.

Despite the struggle, ByteDance's global revenue rose 30% last year and Mr Yiming is still involved, helping to boost his personal fortune.

China's economy has had a difficult year and continued to lag in the wake of the COVID crisis due to a housing crisis and a volatile stock market.