Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is the World’s 11th Richest Person, Net Worth at $96B According to Bloomberg

Bloomberg Billionaires Index has estimated the net worth of the Binance chief CZ to be at a whopping $96 billion. He is now the world’s richest crypto billionaire after surpassing some of the most popular names in the tech industry.

From Flipping Burgers to Becoming a “Fixture” in the UAE

It all started when Bobby Lee, then CEO of cryptocurrency exchange and investors Ron Cao, persuaded CZ to deploy 10% of his net worth into Bitcoin almost a decade ago. This was a time when the world’s largest cryptocurrency was still very much assailed by the naysayers.

Fast forward to 2022, CZ has grabbed the spot as the world’s 11th richest person, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. His fortunes have swelled over the past year from $21 billion. Interestingly, CZ also happens to be the owner of 90% of Binance’s shares. Considering, Binance as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and its ambitious expansion plans, CZ’s estimation isn’t surprising. However, it is important to note that Forbes had earlier placed CZ’s stake at 30%. Hence, his net worth has been a subject of speculation for the most part.

While the 44-year old software engineer is quite respected and a popular figure in the cryptocurrency sector, he is also known to have been recently mingling with the Abu Dhabi royals. From flipping McDonald’s burgers, CZ has come a long way. Reports suggest that CZ has become a “fixture in the UAE,” hosting dinners in Dubai and helping the meeting with Abu Dhabi royalty to bring Binance exchange to the country.

“Don’t Worry About Rankings”

Not much is known about CZ’s personal crypto holdings, even then, he has managed to achieve a spot above India’s behemoth Mukesh Ambani. He had earlier commented that his personal holdings accounted for the “majority” of his net worth.

In that case, the latest figure by Bloomberg could be a huge underestimate, and it is very likely to surpass the likes of Tesla chief Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and Meta’s (previously Facebook) Mark Zuckerberg.

In a seeming reference to his rankings, CZ tweeted,

 “Don’t worry about rankings. Focus on how many people you can help.”

Besides, his peers from the crypto industry that has secured positions on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index are- FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong with $15.4 billion and $8.9 billion, respectively.