TikTok CEO Shou Chew’s testimony before Congress last week was a car crash, but it did reveal that the fortunes of ByteDancer co-founder Zhang Yimig have taken a tumble.
According to Chew’s testimony (pictured below), ByteDance’s founders own about 20 per cent of the company, a significantly lower stake than previously believed.
19 per cent of this stake belongs to Zhang, while co-founder Liang Rubo has the remaining 1 per cent, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Institutional investors hold 60 per cent of ByteDance, while employees own the remaining 20 per cent, according to Chew’s testimony.
Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index estimates this puts Zhang’s overall wealth at A$63 billion, based on ByteDance’s A$378 billion value, calculated from from private trading.
This means his ‘official’ value is close to A$20 billion less than previous reported.
Given the controversy surrounding TikTok, and the numerous bans instituted at various governmental levels around the world, Zhang’s fortunes may continue to tumble.
