BYTEDANCE Ltd. founder Zhang Yiming donated 500 million yuan (US$77.3 million) in his personal wealth to an education fund in his hometown, joining other Chinese Internet moguls in giving back to social causes. The 38-year-old billionaire entrepreneur transferred the money to the Fangmei Educational Development Fund to be set up in the southeastern city of Longyan, Fujian Province. The fund will be used for teacher training, edutech infrastructure and dormitory construction, among other purposes, according to a statement. Zhang, with a wealth of about US$44.5 billion, is joining fellow tech leaders including Meituan founder Wang Xing and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma in stepping up philanthropic efforts. ByteDance, the world’s largest startup, is valued at more than US$250 billion in recent private trades. Last month, Zhang made a surprise announcement that he’ll step down as ByteDance’s chief executive officer by the end of this year and instead focus on longer-term strategy. He said at the time he’ll also spend time on educational charity. The US$77.3 million marks the biggest single donation yet by the billionaire, who last year gave 10 million yuan to his alma mater. (SD-Agencies) |