TikTok has taken over our lives in one way or another for the last few years. Even if you’re not on it, you know about it. With such a huge reach, it’s time to learn about the man behind the app. We look at who owns TikTok and what the CEO’s net worth is.
For the amount of time we spend on the app, you’d think we might not more about it. For example, everyone knows Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, yet the man behind TikTok is a little more of a mystery. We answer your questions about the TikTok CEO.
Who Owns TikTok?
Bytedance is the parent company of TikTok and was founded by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo in 2012. After numerous projects, the two launched Musically in 2016, which would later become TikTok.
Liming left Bytedance in 2021 when Rubo then became CEO of the whole company.
Currently, Shou Zi Chew is CEO of TikTok after he joined ByteDance in 2021 as their chief financial officer. Previously, Kevin. A. Meyer was in charge of the revolutionary video site, however, Chew took over after Meyer left the position after three months.
After completing compulsory national service in Singapore, where the CEO was born, Chew then studied at the University College London. He graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor’s in Economics, before heading to Harvard Business School to complete a Masters in Business Administration. Whilst there, he completed an internship at Facebook, possibly where he first became interested in working in social media.
Does Shou Zi Chew Have A Wife?
The TikTok CEO’s wife is Vivian Kao, who Chew met whilst studying at Harvard.
Now living in Singapore, his wife is also a CEO, but of the Tamarind Global company. The power couple have two children together, who are 8 and 6.
When interviewed, Chew specified that neither of his children uses TikTok as there isn’t an under 13s version in Singapore. This is the case in many countries around the world where those who are too young simply cannot access the app.
However, in the US there is a restricted version of the app that can be used by anyone under that age. Functioning as a separate app, it includes parental control and restricted access to certain types of content
The TikTok CEO’s Net Worth Explored
Though his exact net worth isn’t known, many sources believe it to be around $200 million. This wouldn’t be surprising when looking at how popular TikTok is with over 1 billion users worldwide.
Even if that is a slight exaggeration, Chew’s net worth is definitely up in the millions.
Looking at the ByteDance founder, Zhang Yiming has a huge net worth of $45 billion according to Forbes. The 39-year-old made it onto the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list back in 2013 and has only gone from strength to strength since then.
His co-founder and current CEO of Bytedance Liang Rubo has a net worth that is significantly less, but still at an impressive $2 billion. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it onto the 30 under 30 list like his partner.
Clearly, the people behind the app are very successful, but as more and more countries like the US ban TikTok on government devices, it’s possible its popularity may decline.