Changpeng Zhao is the CEO and founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and currently one of the largest fortunes on the planet. Affectionately known as “CZ,” the $96.9 billion Chinese and Canadian citizen is not far behind names like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. 124,000, 126,000 and 121,000 million, respectively.
Specifically, Zhao ranks 11th among the richest in the world, surpassing even the largest fortune in Asia, Mukesh Ambani, president of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, who has a net worth of 96.8 billion dollars. Among his fellow guild members, the 44-year-old’s closest rivals are FTX founder ($15.4 billion) and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong ($8.9 billion).
The fortune of Zhao, who owns 90% of Binance, short for Binary Finance, could be significantly higher as his estimate of his wealth does not take into account his personal crypto holdings, which include Bitcoin and the token of his own company, Binance Coin, now called BNB.
Binance’s success globally can be attributed to Zhao’s continued efforts to obtain operating licenses in all jurisdictions around the world. Despite regulatory hurdles, Binance maintains a streak of partnerships and acquisitions to remain a leader in the cryptocurrency trading space.
In 2021, Binance generated $20 billion in revenue from spot and derivative trading volumes and announced fees, according to Bloomberg. Furthermore, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, the price of Binance has appreciated more than 1,300% in the last year alone.
“I don’t care about wealth, money or rankings,” Zhao said in an interview conducted by Bloomberg last November. The eleventh-largest fortune in the world declared that such matters are a distraction and that he is willing to give away almost his entire fortune before he dies.
It all started with poker
In 2013, Changpeng Zhao started his career in the world of cryptocurrencies thanks to poker. During a game, along with Bobby Lee, then CEO of BTC China, and investor Ron Cao, they encouraged him to invest 10% of his net worth in bitcoins.
After spending some time studying it, Zhao decided to bet on cryptocurrencies by dedicating his life to it and ended up selling his apartment for bitcoins. In 2017, he founded Binance and quickly became a powerhouse in this volatile world.
Though its beginnings were not easy, as its risky investment coincided with the price of bitcoin plummeting from $600 to $200, six months after its launch, Binance emerged as the world’s leading crypto exchange, maintaining that position to this day.
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