For some people, money is never going to be a problem. I am sure the names have come into your head, but is the Chinese-born Canadian businessman, investor, and software engineer one of those people for whom money will never be a problem? Well, you may be able to determine this for yourself when we have discussed Changpeng Zhao’s net worth in this article.
In this article, we are going to delve into the details of the businessman’s net worth. In doing so, we will also take a look at some of his career highlights, personal details, and the latest news surrounding him.
You may have heard his name, but the details of the personality behind his name may not be something that you know too much about, which is why this article is meant for you.
Who Is Changpeng Zhao?
Before we zoom in on Changpeng Zhao’s net worth, let’s learn a thing or two about his early life.
Zhao was born in the Jiangsu province of China, in Lianyungang. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, with his family in the late 1980s, when he was twelve years old.
Both of his parents worked as teachers in China. Soon after Zhao was born, his father, who had been employed as a university lecturer, was labeled a “pro-bourgeois intellect” and banished to the countryside.
In order to provide for his family during his teenage years in Canada, Zhao worked a variety of service jobs, such as a fast-food cashier at a McDonald’s restaurant and a petrol station.
Zhao majored in computer science at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
Zhao was chosen for an internship in Tokyo following his graduation from McGill, where he developed software for matching trade orders for a Tokyo Stock Exchange subcontractor.
Later, he started working four years straight as a full-time employee at Bloomberg Tradebook as a software developer for futures trading.
Changpeng Zhao Business Career
Changpeng Zhao’s net worth has been earned from his career as a businessman, but how did it all start for him?
To begin his professional career, Zhao relocated to Shanghai in 2005. There, he founded Fusion Systems, a technology startup recognized for providing “some of the fastest automated high-frequency trading platforms and systems for stockbrokers.”
When Zhao was playing poker with Bobby Lee (Charlie Lee’s brother), who would later create BTCC (a firm), in 2013, he first learned about Bitcoin. Zhao should invest 10% of his money in Bitcoin, Lee suggested.
To the chagrin of his family, Zhao “went all in” and sold his Shanghai flat to invest all of his money in Bitcoin.
Zhao was the Chief Technology Officer of OKCoin and part of the team that created Blockchain.info in 2013.
Eleven days after the platform’s July 2017 inauguration, trading on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange started after it successfully raised $15 million through an ICO.
Zhao turned Binance into the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world based on trade volume in less than eight months (as of April 2018).
What Happened to Changpeng Zhao?
Soon, we will learn more about Changpeng Zhao’s net worth, but what is the latest news about him?
According to court filings, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao will enter a guilty plea to criminal charges and resign from his position as CEO as part of a $4.3 billion deal with the Department of Justice.
The government’s plea agreement ends a multi-year investigation into the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
According to the Justice Department, Zhao and others are accused of willfully breaking U.S. economic sanctions “in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the U.S. market without implementing controls required by U.S. law” as well as of breaking the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to put in place an effective anti-money laundering program.
The Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Treasury Department worked together to pursue legal action against Binance and its founder. Notably missing was the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the plea deal, the former CEO of Binance would admit guilt directly for breaking the Bank Secrecy Act and inciting a financial institution to do the same. Additionally, the DOJ is proposing that Zhao be fined $50 million by the court.
Zhao was due in a Seattle courthouse at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (1:00 p.m. ET) for a hearing by Judge Brian Tsuchida.
Changpeng Zhao Net Worth: How Much Is He Worth?
Changpeng Zhao’s net worth is in focus; how much is he worth? As of 2023, according to Forbes, Zhao is worth $10.2 billion.
Legend has it that in less than a year, Changpeng Zhao went from practically owning nothing to having a net worth of over $100 billion.
When he reached his highest point in January 2022, with a net worth of around $100 billion, Changpeng Zhao was the world’s richest cryptocurrency tycoon, the wealthiest Canadian, and ranked among the top ten richest individuals globally.
Regretfully, his net worth dropped by $87 billion during the course of the following few months in 2022. From a peak of $97 billion in early January 2022 to $11 billion in May 2022, his net worth decreased.
That was, for a while, the biggest sum of money that a person had ever lost in history. It was Elon Musk who shattered that record.
