I recently came across a pretty interesting personal story. The name Zhou Shouzi is becoming more and more common in the tech world, and the news about his annual salary of 700 million is spreading like wildfire, but many people may not know how he got to where he is today, step by step.

That said, this guy’s resume really is a bit outrageous. Born in Singapore in 1983, at age 12 he stood out in the National Exams and got into a top-tier institution. At 18, he chose to join the military; at 20, he retired with the rank of captain in the armed forces, and then went straight to University College London to study economics. This choice in itself is quite special—most gifted youngsters might have gone abroad early, but he served first.

By age 23, Zhou Shouzi entered a top investment bank and started making his way in Wall Street. But this guy isn’t the kind who settles for the status quo. At 25, he made a bold decision—giving up his stable job at Goldman Sachs and turning around to pursue an MBA at Harvard, while also interning at Facebook. In the era when that internet giant was rising rapidly, he witnessed firsthand the changes in the tech industry, and this experience later became an important turning point in his career.

At 27, he joined a Russian investment fund, taking the lead in a $500 million investment in JD.com—so he can be said to have made his first real mark in the capital markets. But the real breakthrough came from Xiaomi. At 32, he joined Xiaomi as Chief Financial Officer; in less than three years, he helped drive Xiaomi’s IPO, and this move significantly boosted his reputation in the tech world.

Around 2021, Zhou Shouzi reached the peak of his career—joining ByteDance and serving as CEO of TikTok. Faced with the complexities of the global market and all kinds of challenges, he became the person steering TikTok. Behind the figure of 700 million yuan annual salary is the extent of trust ByteDance places in him and how heavy the responsibilities he carries are.

Looking at the whole story, this guy’s growth path is very clear: a Singapore genius kid → a Wall Street finance elite → a tech industry operator. Each stage seized opportunities of the times, and each involved key decisions. From military service to Wall Street, from Silicon Valley to top-tier Asian companies, Zhou Shouzi uses his abilities to prove what true career advancement really looks like. He’s not just a driver behind Xiaomi and TikTok—he’s more like a benchmark figure in the global tech industry. Such an experience really can inspire many people to think about their own choices and direction.