Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is one of the wealthiest men in the world today. The Chinese-born Canadian business executive formed the company in 2017, which went on to become the largest crypto-exchange platform around the globe.
In the past few months, the crypto market has taken a hit, with almost all platforms and traders suffering massive losses. Zhao also lost significant wealth, and his net worth has diminished significantly. So, where does his net worth currently stand? Read on to find out.
Changpeng Zhao Net Worth
As per Forbes, Changpeng Zhao has a net worth of $4.5 billion in January 2023. While the amount seems to be humungous, it is still considerably less than the wealth he had a few months back.
In October 2022, Zhao’s worth was reported to be $30 billion, which made him the 33rd richest man in the world. Earlier in February of the same year, his fortune peaked at a whopping $95.9 billion. Almost all of these earnings came from his crypto trading business.
Zhao also has personal cryptocurrency holdings in both Bitcoin and Binance Coin. He reportedly bought $1 million worth of Bitcoin when the currency was $600 a unit. Today, the value of the coin stands at more than $20,000 a unit.
Zhao Worked at McDonald’s in his Initial Career
The founder had an extremely humble beginning. He was born in Jiangsu province in China in 1977. His family moved to Vancouver in the 1980s. After shifting to Canada, he worked at a gas station to earn money. He also worked as a referee for volleyball games in his teens and as a cook at McDonald’s.
Zhao graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a degree in computer science. He then worked at the Tokyo Exchange and Bloomberg’s Tradebook and managed teams in Tokyo, and New Jersey, London. In 2005, he left his job and became a partner in Fusion Systems, a trading system company in Shanghai.
Changpeng Zhao Founded Binance in 2017
Zhao first learned about Bitcoin in 2013 and started taking a keen interest in cryptocurrency after that. He then began working at Blockchain.info as the head of development. In 2017, he founded Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The platform handles about $76 billion worth of exchange daily.
The company generated a revenue of $20 billion in 2021 and managed trades worth over $9.5 trillion. As per Bloomberg, the firm’s market share is bigger than that of its four competitors combined. Binance was reported to be interested in buying a majority stake in Forbes for $200 million in February 2022.
The company has also faced some controversies along the way. In October last year, $570 million worth of cryptocurrency traded on the platform ended up getting stolen in a Blockchain hack. Binance was then scrutinized in the US, Hong Kong, Japan, and the UK.
Zhao, who resided in Singapore from 2019 to 2021, shifted to Dubai two years ago, citing that he likes to get acquainted with diverse cultures. The executive now owns an office space, an apartment, and a minivan in Dubai.
For more news and updates, keep watching this space.
