CZ’s net worth is $28.2 billion, with the majority of his wealth coming from Binance, according to Bloomberg.
Binance, founded in 2017, is the world’s largest crypto exchange with over 120 million users and controls over 50% of the market. As of April 5, Bloomberg estimated its annual revenue at around $12 billion.
Before starting Binance, CZ worked on trading systems and was introduced to Bitcoin by Bobby Lee at a poker game in Shanghai.
Binance has faced intense regulatory scrutiny since FTX’s collapse in November 2022. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a lawsuit against the exchange and CZ for breaking trading and derivatives laws. According to Forbes’ rich list, CZ’s net worth is $10.5 billion as of April 26.
Zhao immediately denied estimates of his wealth. “Numbers all wrong,” Zhao tweeted. “I don’t have anywhere near as much. Don’t know why they do this.” He also called it a “4”, his personal code for “Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.”
CZ has previously refuted claims about his wealth. Last June, The Guardian reported that his net worth fell by over $75 billion since January to $20.6 billion, citing Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index estimates. CZ dismissed these figures, stating that net worth is merely an estimate and that he doesn’t come close to those numbers in his wallet.
Similarly, in October, Business Insider reported his net worth at $30 billion, to which CZ responded on Twitter, “Too much focus on net worth, who cares.”