Zhang Yiming
Born 1983 · Age 42
Chinese internet entrepreneur; founder of ByteDance, creator of Toutiao and Douyin/TikTok; one of the world's richest individuals.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Longyan, Fujian, China
Zhang Yiming was born in Longyan, Fujian province. His parents were civil servants and he was an only son.
Enrolled at Nankai University
Entered Nankai University in Tianjin to study microelectronics engineering and later software engineering.
Met future wife at university
Zhang met his wife while attending Nankai University (exact year not specified; placed mid-university for timeline completeness).
Graduated Nankai University with BEng
Graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Engineering in computer engineering (microelectronics/software).
Joined Kuxun as 5th employee and first engineer
In February 2006 Zhang became the fifth employee and first engineer at travel website Kuxun, later managing backend teams.
Promoted to technical director at Kuxun
About a year after joining Kuxun Zhang was promoted to technical director, overseeing engineering staff (~40–50 people by his account).
Left Kuxun and joined Microsoft
Zhang left Kuxun to work for Microsoft but soon felt stifled by corporate rules.
Joined startup Fanfou after Microsoft
Soon after Microsoft, Zhang joined the startup Fanfou; the startup ultimately failed.
Founded 99fang.com (real-estate search)
When Expedia was about to acquire Kuxun, Zhang took over its real-estate search business and started 99fang.com, his first company.
Hired CEO to run 99fang; began focus on new venture
Zhang hired a CEO in 2011 to run 99fang so he could focus on building another venture that became ByteDance.
Quit 99fang and left the real-estate business
Zhang quit 99fang three years after founding it (reported as 2012) to focus on ByteDance.
Founded ByteDance
Founded Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. with the vision of using AI recommendation to push relevant content to mobile users.
Early investment from Susquehanna International Group
ByteDance struggled to find VC funding initially; Susquehanna International Group agreed to invest early in the startup (amount not specified in sources provided).
Launched Toutiao news aggregator
ByteDance launched Toutiao in August 2012, a news app powered by AI recommendations.
Named in Forbes China 30 Under 30
Forbes included Zhang on its China 30 Under 30 list.
Toutiao reached 13 million daily users (within two years)
Within two years of launch Toutiao attracted more than 13 million daily users (reported circa 2014).
Sequoia Capital led a US$100M investment in ByteDance
After initially rejecting Zhang, Sequoia Capital led a $100 million investment in ByteDance in 2014.
Launched Douyin (Douyin/TikTok introduced)
ByteDance launched its short video app Douyin in China (later known internationally as TikTok) in September 2015; it quickly gained popularity with young users.
ByteDance acquired Musical.ly for US$800M
ByteDance bought Musical.ly (reported as a year after Douyin/TikTok's launch) for approximately $800 million and later integrated it into TikTok.
Global expansion of TikTok/ByteDance accelerates
ByteDance pushed global expansion (prioritizing markets beyond China), including international focus for products such as Lark and TikTok.
Neihan Duanzi app shut down by regulators; Zhang issued public apology
China's National Radio and Television Administration shut down ByteDance's Neihan Duanzi in 2018; Zhang apologized and pledged deeper cooperation with the Communist Party.
ByteDance reached >1 billion monthly users; valued at US$75B
By late 2018 ByteDance had more than a billion monthly users across its apps and was valued at about $75 billion, surpassing Uber as most valuable private startup.
Named in Fortune's 40 Under 40
Fortune included Zhang Yiming on its 40 Under 40 list in 2018.
Named to Time's 100 Most Influential People
Time magazine named Zhang one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2019.
Donated US$10M to Gates-backed COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator
Zhang committed $10 million to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–backed COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator as part of philanthropic efforts.
US DOJ described Zhang as 'a mouthpiece' of the Chinese Communist Party
In a September 2020 filing the U.S. Department of Justice called Zhang a 'mouthpiece' of the Chinese Communist Party during litigation surrounding TikTok.
Announced he would step down as CEO of ByteDance
In May 2021 Zhang announced plans to step down as CEO and be succeeded by cofounder Liang Rubo by year-end.
TikTok reported as top non-gaming iOS app in U.S.; >1 billion downloads
Reports in 2021 noted TikTok as the No.1 non-gaming iOS app in the U.S. and indicated the app had been downloaded more than 1 billion times globally.
Forbes reports Zhang's fortune more than doubled to US$59.4B
Forbes reported on November 3, 2021 that Zhang's fortune had more than doubled to $59.4 billion during the year.
Stepped down as CEO (leadership handover completed)
On 4 November 2021 Zhang stepped down as CEO of ByteDance, completing the leadership handover announced in May 2021.
Accused in lawsuit of facilitating bribes (NYT report)
In May 2023 The New York Times reported that a former ByteDance employee accused Zhang in a lawsuit of facilitating bribes to Chinese official Lu Wei.
Reported to hold over 50% of ByteDance voting rights
Reuters reported Zhang maintains over 50 percent of ByteDance's voting rights (reported 15 March 2024).
Became richest man in China
Surging global popularity of TikTok made Zhang the richest man in China (reported 29 October 2024).
Forbes estimates net worth at US$65.5 billion
Forbes listed Zhang Yiming's estimated net worth at US$65.5 billion (May 2025).
Key Achievement Ages
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