Hong Kong is a city in Hong Kong. A cryptocurrency CEO has become one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
According to fresh figures from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index published Monday, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has reached the ranks of the world’s top billionaires, with an estimated net worth of at least $96 billion.
Zhao’s estimated worth now approaches that of Oracle (ORCL) founder Larry Ellison and exceeds that of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian entrepreneur whose fortune has also risen dramatically in the previous two years.
In the fast-moving world of digital currencies, the rise of the Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur is typical of the quick production of riches.
Other crypto pioneers, like Vitalik Buterin, the developer of Ethereum, and Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, both became billionaires last year as the value of virtual currency rose.
On Tuesday, Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, another Binance-backed cryptocurrency exchange, cited a “unprecedented amount of wealth creation that has occurred in the industry over the last few years.” in the business over the last few years.
“I think that there’s a lot of people who are trying to figure out what to do with [that],” Friedman, a young millionaire, said at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong during a virtual onstage conversation.
Zhao appeared to recognise the distinction in a statement on Twitter on Monday.
“Don’t be concerned about your position in the rankings. Concentrate on how many individuals you can assist “he penned
“Unpopular opinion: instead of wealth rankings, there should be a ranking of charity and philanthropy efforts.” Zhao said in another tweet on Tuesday.
Other well-known corporate executives, including Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have recently signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign initiated by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to persuade the world’s wealthiest to contribute the majority of their fortunes to charity.
Binance was founded by Zhao in 2017 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Zhao addressed the obstacles publicly last year, stating in an open letter that “clear regulations are critical for continued growth.”
He went on to say, “More regulations are, in fact, positive signs that an industry is maturing,” “Because this sets the foundation for a broader population to feel safe to participate in crypto.”
