The 41-year-old, known as the “short video king,” took the top spot on the Hurun China Rich List for the first time with $49.3 billion (£37.9 billion).
In 2021, Mr. Yiming left his position as CEO of ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok.
In the 26 years that the Hurun China Rich List was established, he is the 18th person to be named China’s richest person.
Zhong Shanshan, a bottled water tycoon, lost ground to him after his wealth fell 24% to $47.9 billion (£36.8 billion).
Due to challenging economic conditions in China over the last year, several of the billionaires on the list suffered a sharp decline in their wealth.
TikTok may be banned in the US next year unless its parent firm completes a sale because to allegations that it is providing data to the Chinese government, which it denies. This comes amid a legal dispute over ByteDance’s US assets.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed legislation.
The owner of the well-known video-sharing app will have nine months to find a buyer, with a potential three-month extension while a transaction is underway, or risk being banned if the bill is passed into law.