What is Shou Zi Chew's Net Worth?
Shou Zi Chew is a Singaporean businessman and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $200 million. Shou Zi Chew serves as the CEO of the video-hosting service TikTok. Before he assumed that position in 2021, he held executive positions at the Chinese electronics company Xiaomi. In 2023 and 2024, Chew testified before the United States Congress regarding legislation on TikTok and child Internet safety.
Early Life and Education
Shou Zi Chew was born on the first of January, 1983 in Singapore. His father reportedly worked in construction, while his mother worked as a bookkeeper. As an adolescent, Chew attended Hwa Chong Institution. After graduating, he served in Singapore's National Service as a commissioned officer in the Singapore Armed Forces. Following his military service, Chew attended University College London, from which he graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Economics degree. He went on to attend Harvard Business School in the United States, earning his MBA in 2010. While at Harvard, Chew interned at Facebook, which was still a startup at the time.
Business Career Beginnings
After his graduation from UCL in 2006, Chew worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in London for two years. He subsequently joined billionaire Yuri Milner's venture capital and private equity firm DST Global, where he led investments in such technology companies as Alibaba, JD.com, Xiaomi, and ByteDance.
Xiaomi
In 2015, Chew became the CFO of Xiaomi, a Chinese company that designs and manufactures consumer electronics and software, including smartphones. The company went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2018. The following year, Chew became the international business president of Xiaomi.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
ByteDance and TikTok
In March of 2021, Chew left Xiaomi and became the CFO of the Internet technology company ByteDance, the developer of the video-sharing service TikTok. Subsequently, Chew replaced Kevin A. Mayer as TikTok's CEO, taking over a company that was in the midst of major global scrutiny for its potential security risks. Specifically, TikTok and ByteDance have attracted significant controversy in relation to concerns over national security, surveillance, and censorship. Concerns have been raised in several countries over the kinds of content that can or cannot be seen on TikTok, as well as how the app collects and utilizes the data of its users.
Due to the myriad concerns over data privacy, censorship, and its links to the Chinese government, TikTok has been banned in many places, including India. In early 2023, the United States Department of Justice and the FBI opened an investigation into ByteDance relating to the company's alleged surveillance of journalists. As a result, Chew testified before the US's House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding legislative efforts to ban TikTok in the country. He testified again in early 2024 during a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on legislation related to child Internet safety.
Personal Life
In 2008, Chew met fellow grad student Vivian Kao at Harvard Business School. They eventually got married, and had two children. Chew and Kao regularly give back to their alma mater as donors and volunteers. They reside in Singapore.
