In a post on X, Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao disputed Forbes’ estimate that placed his net worth at $110 billion.
- The Forbes ranking of the richest people in 2026 placed Zhao ahead of Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, and Mukesh Ambani.
- Zhao questioned the estimate, pointing out that cryptocurrency prices fell sharply in 2026, so his net worth could not have increased.
- Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO in 2023 after a settlement with U.S. authorities and later received a presidential pardon in 2025.
Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, co-founder of Binance, rebuked the 2026 Forbes World’s Billionaires List on Wednesday, which said his net worth grew to climb past Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, and India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
“Crypto price dropped by more than 50% in 2026 already. And my net worth went up?” CZ wrote on X. “Wish they can apply some common sense and basic logic.”
Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen nearly 45% from its October peak of over $126,000. The apex cryptocurrency was trading at around $69,500 on Wednesday morning, down 2% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Bitcoin dipped to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ territory over the past day alongside ‘low’ levels of chatter.
“I think if I tried to claim I have a high net worth, they will rank me much lower, or maybe even remove me from the list. They like to estimate the opposite,” he said in a follow up post.
According to the billionaire’s list, Zhao ranked 17th with a net worth of $110 billion, ahead of Bloomberg at $109 billion and Gates at $108 billion. Ambani’s wealth was estimated at about $99.7 billion.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, topped the ranking with an estimated fortune of $839 billion, followed by Larry Page at $257 billion and Sergey Brin at $237 billion.
Who Is Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao?
Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and still owns an estimated 90% stake in the exchange, along with a large holding of BNB tokens. Data from Arkham Intelligence showed that CZ’s on-chain crypto holdings are worth about $1.06 billion, including 106,900 BNB tokens valued at roughly $685,000.
BNB’s price edged 0.9% lower in the last 24 hours to around $640. The token has fallen more than 50% from its peak of over $1,369 seen in October last year. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Binance Coin remained in ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.
In November 2023, Zhao stepped down as Binance's CEO as part of a sweeping settlement with U.S. authorities after pleading guilty to money-laundering charges. He was sentenced to four months in prison and paid a $50 million fine out of pocket, while Binance exited the U.S. market and settled for $4.3 billion. Shortly after President Donald Trump took the helm in 2025, he pardoned CZ and cleared his conviction.
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