ByteDance, the Chinese company that offers the social network TikTok, is now worth $300 billion. As it is not listed on the stock exchange, it is difficult to know its exact valuation. However, according to a Wall Street Journal article, as part of a stock buyback offer (when a company offers to buy back shares from its shareholders), ByteDance would have set its valuation at $300 billion. The newspaper recalls that, as part of a public share buyback offer addressed to employees, ByteDance had estimated its valuation at $225 billion, in October 2023.
TikTok is one of the leading online platforms today. But, unlike Facebook or YouTube, the platform does not belong to an American giant, but to a Chinese company. As a result, its success inspires distrust in many countries, including the United States. Under the Biden administration, a law was passed to force ByteDance to sell TikTok, to avoid a ban. But the recent election of Donald Trump could change the situation. And according to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s election is seen as “an overall positive element for TikTok’s hopes in the United States” by ByteDance investors. Indeed, while he almost had TikTok banned during his first term, Trump expressed a different position on the social network during his campaign.
The creator of ByteDance became the richest person in China
ByteDance’s success is such that today its creator, Zhang Yiming, is considered the richest person in China. As reported in a CNN article, Yiming, aged 41, is in first place on the 2024 Hurun China Rich List, which ranks the richest people in the Middle Kingdom. This list estimates the fortune of the co-founder of ByteDance at $49.3 billion. And if he is now in first place on the list of the richest Chinese fortunes, it would be thanks to a 30% increase in ByteDance’s revenues in 2023.
According to CNN, Zhang Yiming, who co-founded ByteDance in 2012, holds a 20% stake in the company. In 2021, he would have left the position of CEO of the company, after having made it a global tech giant. In addition to TikTok, ByteDance offers other applications, including Douyin (the equivalent of TikTok in China) and Toutiao, a platform dedicated to news.
- ByteDance, the Chinese company that offers TikTok, now reportedly has a valuation of $300 billion
- ByteDance is not listed on the stock exchange, but according to the Wall Street Journal, this new valuation was estimated by the company as part of a share buyback offer
- ByteDance still faces ban in the United States, but the election of Donald Trump would be seen as a positive signal by investors
- Zhang Yiming, co-founder of ByteDance, is also the richest person in China, according to the 2024 Hurun China Rich Ranking
