Zhang Yiming's "Invisibility" and the "Visibility" of His Wealth: An Experiment with Valuation and Time
Hello everyone, I'm your financial journalist friend. Today, we're going to discuss a particularly interesting phenomenon: Why has the wealth of Zhang Yiming, an internet mogul who hasn't been very active in the public eye for several years and was even thought to have "disappeared," continued to grow like a snowball?
On September 16th, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed that Zhang Yiming's fortune had surpassed $105 billion, officially placing him at the top of the list as Asia's richest person. His wealth has increased by eightfold in just seven years, from $13 billion in 2019 to the current $105 billion.
Many people's first reaction was, "Is he secretly up to something big?" or "Did he sell his company?"
Neither is the case.
Today, I'll break down the logic behind this in simple terms. You'll see that Zhang Yiming's story is actually a classic example of how "ownership," "time," and "expectations" interact.
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First, Debunk a Myth: The $105 Billion Isn't Cash in His Bank Account
First of all, let's clear up the biggest misunderstanding. When you hear that Zhang Yiming has $105 billion, don't imagine a gold vault at home or that much cash in his bank account. 99% of that money is "paper wealth."
Why? Because ByteDance has not gone public yet.
- How is the wealth of a public company calculated? For companies like Tencent and Alibaba, the market value is determined by multiplying the number of shares by the stock price, as it changes daily in the open market.
- How is the wealth of a private company calculated? For a company like ByteDance, without a public stock price, its valuation is based on three main factors:
1. Employee Buyback Price: The price at which the company buys back shares from its employees.
2. Private Transaction Prices: The prices negotiated when external investors want to buy or sell ByteDance's shares.
3. Investor Valuation Models: Banks and analysts estimate the company's value based on its revenue, profit, and growth rate.
So, Zhang Yiming's $105 billion is essentially a market assessment of ByteDance's future profitability. If the market believes ByteDance will earn more money in the future, its value will rise, and so will his wealth.
In simple terms: It's like owning a piece of land. Even if you haven't sold it, if the surrounding land values increase and experts estimate it to be worth $100 million, your asset is valued at $100 million. But you haven't received that money yet; it's just an expectation.
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Core Logic: He stepped Back, but His Equity Didn't
One of the most impressive (or surprising) moves Zhang Yiming made was stepping down as CEO in 2021. He was only 38 years old at the time. He said bluntly in a letter, "I'm not good at socializing, I don't like listening to reports every day; I want to study principles, read books, and daydream." He handed over day-to-day management to Liang Rubo.
Many people think that when a founder leaves management, their wealth decreases. But Zhang Yiming proved otherwise: Management rights and profit rights can be separated.
- Management Rights: Who holds the meetings, makes decisions, and manages the team? Liang Rubo does that.
- Profit Rights (Ownership): Who gets the biggest share of the company's profits? That's Zhang Yiming.
Zhang Yiming made a smart move: He gave up the hard work and power of being the boss but retained his status as a shareholder.
It's like a chef who stops cooking personally (leaving it to the head chef) but remains the major shareholder of the restaurant. As long as the restaurant does well, he gets a larger share of the profits.
The key point is: When Zhang Yiming stepped back, ByteDance was not in decline; it was entering a period of rapid growth. TikTok was expanding globally, and Douyin was becoming more profitable in China. His algorithms, organizational structure, and product strategies continued to generate profits efficiently.
In other words, his wealth grew not because he did nothing, but because the "money-making machine" he built continued to operate even more efficiently after he stepped out of the spotlight.
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Valuation Shift: From "Traffic" to "AI Potential"
Why has Zhang Yiming's wealth skyrocketed in recent years? Besides ByteDance's strong profitability, another key factor is the change in the capital market's valuation logic.
In the past, people evaluated ByteDance based on its traffic: How many users it had, how long they stayed on the platform, and how much money it could earn from ads. This was a stable model with clear growth limits.
Now, the market looks at ByteDance through the lens of AI: According to The Wall Street Journal, ByteDance's revenue is expected to reach $200 billion in 2025, with a net profit of $42 billion. In the first half of 2026, revenue exceeded $120 billion, but the net profit was only around $20 billion.
Wait, why did the profit drop? Is it due to poor management? On the contrary: The profit decrease is because ByteDance is investing heavily in AI research, hardware, and model training.
- Previously: It would keep 80% of its profits after earning $100.
- Now: It keeps 20% and invests 80% in AI.
Why is the market willing to pay a higher valuation? Because in the eyes of investors, a traffic company and an AI company are two different things:**
- A traffic company earns money today with certainty, but its growth potential is limited.
- An AI company represents future productivity with huge potential. Even if it spends a lot now, success could revolutionize the industry.
ByteDance owns AI products like Doubao (a large language model) and Seedance (video generation), as well as vast user data for training models. This makes investors see it as more than just an advertising giant; it's also a potential leader in the AI era.
This is the "valuation shift":
- The traffic business determines how much money ByteDance earns today (cash flow).
- The AI business determines the premium the market is willing to pay for its future potential.
Zhang Yiming's wealth surge is due to the market's recognition of ByteDance's AI capabilities.
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Comparison with Other Internet Moguls
To make it clearer, let's compare Zhang Yiming with other internet leaders:
| Leader | Company Status | Wealth Calculation Method | Unique Features |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Ma Huateng | Tencent (publicly traded) | Stock price fluctuations | Still actively manages; wealth fluctuates daily with the stock price, stable but affected by market sentiment. |
| Jack Ma | Alibaba (publicly traded) | Stock price fluctuations | Completely retired from management, focuses on philanthropy and education; wealth comes from early stock dividends and stock price changes. |
| Huang Zheng | Pinduoduo (publicly traded) | Stock price fluctuations | Retired from management and devoted to research; wealth tied to Pinduoduo's stock price, though the business is relatively niche. |
| Zhang Yiming | ByteDance (private) | Buyback price/private valuation | Stepped back from management; wealth has soared due to private valuations. Wealth comes from both advertising/e-commerce profits and AI potential. |
Zhang Yiming's uniqueness lies in:
1. Privately Traded Benefits: No daily market fluctuations; his valuation is determined by key parties (such as large institutions), reflecting the company's true potential rather than short-term sentiment.
2. Dual Drivers: He owns both profitable traditional businesses (Douyin/TikTok) and cutting-edge AI businesses, which combined increase his overall valuation.
In simple terms: Ma Huateng and Huang Zheng's wealth is transparent and daily trackable; Zhang Yiming's wealth is less so, but it includes the high-value potential of AI, making it more significant.
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Risk Warning: $105 Billion Is Both a Report Card and an Expectation
Finally, let's keep a realistic perspective. Zhang Yiming's $105 billion is both a testament to ByteDance's strength and an expectation of its future.
- Positive aspects: It shows ByteDance's profitability (hundreds of billions in annual net profit) and high market recognition.
- Risks:
- Valuation Volatility: The valuation of a private company is uncertain. If ByteDance's growth slows or AI investments don't yield results, the valuation could drop.
- External Factors: ByteDance's global operations expose it to geopolitical risks and regulatory pressures (e.g., TikTok's challenges in Europe and the US).
- AI Uncertainty: While AI investments are significant, whether they will lead to sustainable competitiveness and profits is still uncertain. If they prove to be a costly venture with no returns, market interest may wane.
In summary: Zhang Yiming became Asia's richest person not because of a sudden windfall, but because he made the right decisions about when to step back and how to hold his assets.**
He freed himself from tedious management to focus on long-term strategies. His shares in ByteDance happened to benefit from the transition from a traffic-based to an AI-driven era.
His wealth growth isn't about his efforts; it's about the market's willingness to pay a high price for ByteDance's future potential.
For ordinary people, the lesson is this: Wealth accumulation often depends not on how busy you are, but on whether your assets have long-term growth potential and whether the market values that potential.
As for whether $105 billion is the peak for Zhang Yiming, as long as ByteDance continues to grow and its AI efforts succeed, this number is likely to rise. The question is: How high will the market value of ByteDance's future be?