Forbes@Forbes
A year and a half ago, Changpeng Zhao was just getting out of jail. After a sweeping investigation into Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded in 2017, Zhao (better known by his initials, CZ) pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and agreed to pay a $50 million fine (on top of $4.3 billion paid by Binance), resign as CEO and serve four months in a California prison.
What a difference 17 months makes.
Forbes estimates that CZ is now richer than ever. His net worth has skyrocketed to $110 billion, up $47 billion from last year, on the annual #ForbesBillionaires list. CZ now ranks as the 17th-wealthiest person on the planet, by our count, and one of just 20 people worth twelve figures. He is richer than Bill Gates.
forbes.com/sites/ninabamb…
(📸: Krisztian Bocsi via Bloomberg)