Binance CEO Closing The Wealth Distance Between Him And Mark Zuckerberg – Makes Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index

• Bloomberg’s billionaire index has put Changpeng Zhao’s fortune at nearly $100 billion.
• The Binance CEO has stated in the past that he will most likely give away all of his wealth.
• Despite his financial fortunes, Changpeng Zhao faces a stern test from regulators around the world.

The rich list released by Bloomberg puts CZ as he is fondly called as the 11th richest man alive. His net worth by far outstrips the conservative figures given by Forbes last year.

Almost 100 Billion Dollars

Cryptocurrencies have earned a reputation for giving investors incredible returns on their investments and one of the major players in the ecosystem is already reaping the rewards. A recent Bloomberg rich list claims that Binance’s founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao is worth $96 billion.

The rationale behind this valuation is that Zhao owns a majority stake in the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance. According to data gleaned from trading volumes and fees, Binance recorded around $20 billion in revenue which is nearly 3 times the revenue of Coinbase. An interesting fact about the rating is that it does not take into account his crypto holdings. Zhao is said to hold a large cache of BNB that has since soared by over 1000%

“Don’t worry about rankings. Focus on how many people you can help,” he tweeted a few hours after the Bloomberg report went live. “Unpopular opinion: instead of wealth rankings, there should be a ranking of charity and philanthropy efforts.”

The CEO has previously stated that he intends to donate more than 90% of his fortune to charity over the course of his life like other wealthy entrepreneurs that had come before him. He claimed in an Associated Press interview that he personally did not require a lot of money to maintain the current standard of his life. However, in a money move, reports emerged that CZ had purchased a multi-million dollar home in Dubai in November 2021.

Binance and its CEO donated $150,000 for the building of an ultramodern school in Uganda and also pledged to raise $1 million AUD for the planting of 100,000 trees in commemoration of Earth Day. Other charitable moves include the financial donation to healthcare workers in Mexico and a 1 million donation to UNICEF to support COVID-19 Vaccination equality.

Where He Seats On The Rankings

A net worth of $96 billion places Changpeng Zhao over India’s Mukesh Ambani and below Larry Elison. However, if his cryptocurrency holdings are taken into account, Zhao could easily rub shoulders with other tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page that have net worths of $122 billion and $123 billion respectively.

Binance has been embroiled in regulatory battles with the authorities in various jurisdictions, leading to fines and bans. The exchange has taken steps to be on the good books of regulators and is hiring ex-regulators to help in its compliance drive. It is expected that after achieving regulatory passes in its troubled jurisdiction, Changpeng Zhao’s net worth could outstrip Mark Zuckerberg’s.

The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried was named the richest 29 year old by Forbes last year with a fortune of $26.5 billion. Other cryptocurrency billionaires include Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, and the Winklevoss Twins, founders of crypto exchange Gemini.