Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and CEO of Binance, has once again denied reports of his personal wealth, calling them “all wrong.” According to a Bloomberg report published on Tuesday, Zhao’s net worth was estimated to be $28.2 billion, making him the third-richest person in the finance category.
However, Zhao tweeted that the numbers were incorrect and that he didn’t have anywhere near as much as reported. He also stated that he didn’t know why such reports were published.
This is not the first time Zhao has denied reports of his wealth. Last year, The Guardian reported that his net worth had fallen by more than $75 billion since January, to $20.6 billion, citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates.
However, Zhao denied the numbers, stating that he had no idea how they came up with such estimates. Similarly, when Business Insider reported Zhao’s net worth at $30 billion in October 2021, he tweeted that too much focus was being placed on net worth.
There have been several estimates of Zhao’s wealth over the years, with Forbes estimating it at $65 billion in April 2021. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $96 billion in January 2021, not taking into account his personal crypto holdings, including bitcoin and Binance’s own token, BNB. However, Zhao has tweeted several times that he has no fiat money.
Despite reports of his wealth, Zhao maintains that he is just a “small potato” in a small but growing industry and that people like Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin are 100 times bigger than him. He also stated that he intends to donate up to 99% of his wealth, a tweet that he has since deleted.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny in various countries. Last month, the company and Zhao were sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for allegedly operating an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program. Zhao called the suit “unexpected and disappointing” and stated that he didn’t agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint.
