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Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, says he is worth between $10 billion and $30 billion, a fraction of the more than $100 billion that Forbes estimates.
Zhao made the claim in a New York Times feature that followed him in Abu Dhabi, where he has lived since his release from a US prison. He told the newspaper that he does not live like a typical billionaire, and that $10 million would be enough for him to live comfortably.
He did not explain how he arrives at the lower figure.
A gap of more than $70 billion
Zhao's estimate is at odds with every major wealth tracker. Forbes has said his fortune comes mostly from an estimated 90% stake in Binance. It values the privately held exchange at $100 billion, citing annual revenue of $16 billion to $17 billion and about $30 trillion a year in trading volume.
On that basis, Forbes ranked Zhao ahead of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates earlier this year, estimating his fortune at $110 billion. The Times put it at $114 billion.
It is not the first time Zhao has disputed Forbes. He said on X at the time that its estimate "defies logic," pointing to a drop in crypto markets.
Binance's own deals also point well above Zhao's range. The exchange was valued at $75 billion in early 2025, when Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX took a stake, according to the Times. Zhao remains Binance's majority shareholder despite restrictions placed on him by his plea agreement.
Life after prison
The Times describes a life that is more modest than his fortune but still far from ordinary. Zhao drove a white Nissan SUV to meet the reporter at the St. Regis hotel in Abu Dhabi. He lives in a nine-bedroom villa with four bodyguards and a chef, and owns a yacht named "Da Moon."
His home is on Saadiyat Island, which faces Iran across the Gulf. Earlier this year, he said, the windows of his villa shook during an Iranian missile attack on the United Arab Emirates. He was not worried. "More people die in traffic accidents than from missiles," he said. "The security here is very good."
Zhao pleaded guilty in the United States in 2023 to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. He stepped down as chief executive, paid a $50 million fine and served four months in federal prison in California. Binance paid a $4.3 billion penalty to settle the case. Zhao was released in September 2024, and President Donald Trump pardoned him in October 2025.
The Times also tied Zhao to a $2 billion transaction involving World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto venture, and investors linked to the UAE royal family.
From burger shifts to crypto
Zhao was born in Jiangsu province, China, in 1977, and moved with his family to Vancouver in the late 1980s, where he worked shifts at McDonald's and at a gas station. He later developed high-frequency trading software for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Tradebook.
He had a net worth in the low single-digit millions before he launched Binance in 2017. The exchange grew so quickly that he became a billionaire within months.
Zhao has said before that he plans to give away most of his money. He once told the Associated Press that he intends to give away "90, 95, or 99%" of his wealth.
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