{"id":395823,"date":"2023-05-30T00:07:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T00:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/?page_id=395823"},"modified":"2024-03-02T21:25:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T21:25:31","slug":"changpeng-zhao-net-worth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/bitcoin-investors\/changpeng-zhao-net-worth","title":{"rendered":"Changpeng Zhao Net Worth, Crypto and NFT Investments"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Forbes, the net worth of Changpeng Zhao is estimated to be $15 billion. He acquired most of his wealth as the CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance. In 2022, Forbes estimated the net worth of Changpeng Zhao to be $65 billion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Changpeng<\/p>\n

Zhao had a tough beginning that forced his family out of China. According to findings, the Binance boss didn’t inherit any wealth from his family. Instead, he strived all by himself to become successful. Before he founded Binance, Changpeng Zhao worked on various tech startups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Likewise, he has been the subject of various controversies. Recently, popular Chatbot, ChatGPT generated results claiming that Changpeng Zhao is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In November 2023, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to all the money laundering charges leveled against him by the U.S. authorities and eventually agreed to step down from his role as the CEO of Binance.<\/p>\n

Changpeng Zhao\u2019s Net Worth<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Year<\/th>\nNet Worth<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
2020<\/td>\n$1.5 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2021<\/td>\n$1.9 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2022<\/td>\n$65 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2023<\/td>\n$10.5 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2024<\/td>\n$15 billion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Early Life<\/h2>\n

Born on February 5, 1977, in the Jiangsu province of China, Changpeng Zhao had a tough beginning that forced his family away from China. Prior to his birth, Changpeng Zhao’s parents were school teachers in China. <\/span><\/p>\n

His father, Shengkai advanced further, becoming an instructor at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, a leading Chinese University at that time. Shengkai and his family lived on the campus of the University during this period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Things began to change negatively for Shengkai and his family. Authorities perceived his teaching to be against the communist ideology of the Chinese government, thus, tagging him as a “pro-bourgeois intellect.” Consequently, the Changpeng Zhao family was forced to leave far away from urban areas in China. <\/span><\/p>\n

The hostility from the Chinese government forced Shengkai to consider moving outside the country. Due to that, he moved to Canada in 1984 to pursue a doctorate. The rest of his family joined him five years later. <\/span><\/p>\n

Efforts to move away from China were difficult for Changpeng Zhao and the rest of the family. The tough crackdown on those who opposed the Chinese Communist Party compelled many to flee the country then. Changpeng Zhao and his family spent several days outside the Canadian Embassy in China for an expedited visa to leave the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

At a time, Changpeng Zhao recalled how members of the family took shifts at night to retain the family’s position in the queue.\u00a0<\/span>Initially, attempting to relocate from China usually takes up to 7 years owing to the complications in processing travel documents. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, the tensed situation in country at that time helped simplify the process as they eventually joined Shengkai in Canada. Settling down in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada was a difficult one for the family. The situation was so tough that young Changpeng Zhao had to take menial jobs to assist the family during that period. He worked at a restaurant belonging to McDonald as a fast food clerk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the difficulties, Changpeng Zhao picked an interest in computer programming at a young age. This interest gained more ground in Changpeng Zhao after his Father acquired a computer. Thereafter, he enrolled in various computer programming classes before gaining admission into McGill University, Montreal. <\/span><\/p>\n

There, he majored in Computer Science. Meanwhile, Changpeng Zhao also picked an interest in Mathematics which further complemented his focus on computer programming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Career Before Binance<\/h2>\n

Upon his graduation from McGill University, Changpeng Zhao picked up a contractor role as an intern at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Thereafter, he worked with Bloomberg for four (4) years between 2001 to 2005 as head of Tradebook Futures Development. As a computer science expert, Changpeng Zhao focused on building Tech Startups.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2005, the web tech industry began to gain relevance in China. Owing to that, Changpeng Zhao moved to Shanghai to launch an IT start-up together with five other partners. Before returning to China, he has changed his nationality to Canada after leaving China at a young age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The start-up was designated as a \u201cWholly Owned Foreign Enterprise\u201d (WOFE). During this period, Changpeng Zhao strived hard to keep the business afloat. Things began to improve positively for him and he acquired a condo in Shanghai. Meanwhile, he was forced to pay 25% more tax because he was a foreigner. During this period, the net worth of Changpeng Zhao didn’t gain much boost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In China, he also co-founded the Fusion system. Additionally, Changpeng Zhao worked on various projects during this period. In 2013, he worked as the Chief Technology Officer of OKCoin before moving on to work on some other projects. Also, he founded Bijie Tech which provides cloud-based services to exchanges. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to a revelation by Changpeng Zhao, the firm managed to attract about 30 clients aboard. Most of these clients were mostly exchanges of art and items like stamps, baseball cards, and many more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In March 2017, the Chinese government began to clamp down on exchanges that offer such services. Changpeng Zhao\u2019s firm began to struggle as all of its clients went out of business. During this period, there was a general notion that such services provided by Bijie Tech clients could destroy the careers of young minds in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

This belief surfaced due to how the older population in China then perceived that everything relating to the Internet and Social Media was harmful to youth. The struggles of the firm gave Changpeng Zhao headway about the possibility of establishing a cryptocurrency exchange.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Binance<\/h2>\n

With Bijie out of business, Changpeng Zhao mobilized some of his team members to launch Binance on July 14, 2017. Binance managed to raise $15 million from an initial coin offering, and trading began on the exchange eleven days later. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thereafter, Changpeng Zhao launched the Binance Coin in 2017. The Binance Coin served as a utility token to the crypto exchange. It was designed to give its holders numerous benefits, such as discounts on trading fees.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project was struggling to kick off properly after the Chinese government’s general clampdown was extended to crypto exchanges. On September 4, 2017, the Chinese government issued a memo declaring that crypto exchanges were no longer allowed to operate in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

Later, the Chinese government blocked the platform behind the Great Firewall. The crypto exchange lost most of its employees and users due to the memo. In less than a year after its official launch, Binance was left with few employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the struggles, Changpeng managed to forge ahead and keep the business running. His dedication paid off as Binance grew rapidly to become the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume in less than eight (8) months after its official launch. <\/span><\/p>\n

Attaining that height, Binance recorded a market capitalization of $1.3 billion despite stern competition with Coinbase. The success of Binance laid the foundation for the growing net worth of Changpeng Zhao. In February 2018, Forbes listed him third on its list of “The Richest People In Cryptocurrency\u201d. Then, the net worth of Changpeng Zhao was estimated to be around $2 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n