Canadian billionaire Changpeng Zhao has been in the headlines recently for legal issues related to Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded in 2017.
Changpeng Zhao Net Worth: $62 Billion
However, despite having been hit with punishing fines, the forty-seven year old is still around the 25th richest man in the world as of 17 November, according to Forbes, with assets worth $62 billion.
Zhao was born in China before moving with his family to Canada when he was 12 years old. He studied computer science at McGill University in Montreal, after which he worked developing trading software for the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Later, Zhao worked for four years developing futures trading software for Bloomberg TradeBook. In 2005 he founded his own start-up trading software company, Fusion systems.
He began building the bulk of his crypto fortune in 2013. He sold his apartment in Shanghai to go “all in” in bitcoin following a conversation with Bobby Lee, the founder of cryptoexchange BTCC .
He then pursued a range of crypto-related ventures, including becoming a member of the team to develop Blockchain.info, which provides a crypto exchange and other tools.
All of this ultimately led to the launch of Binance in 2017. After it raised an initial $15 million in an initial coin offering, the business became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume within eight months.
Zhao’s ownership of Binance led him to become the 26th-richest person in the world, Forbes stated in July. He had previously said nearly all of his money was in the form of cryptocurrency.
However, Zhao was forced to step down as CEO of the company in November 2023 after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued him for alleged violations of US securities rules. He also paid a $50 million fine and earlier this year was sentenced to four months in prison; part of a guilty plea to US federal charges including operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering.
All of this goes to show that innovation can carry great risks, both for businesses and individuals, as well as great rewards.
Robin has more than six years of experience as a financial journalist, most of which were spent at Citywire, and covers the latest developments in the investing, trading and currency transfer space. Outside of work, he enjoys reading literature and philosophy and playing the piano.
You can contact Robin at robin@goodmoneyguide.com
