Despite pleading guilty to money laundering in November 2023, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao has retained the crypto wealthiest person by Forbes.
Recall that Zhao faced federal money laundering charges brought by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and agreed to pay $200m in fines last year as part of a settlement.
The subsequent part of the settlement agreed upon was for him to step down from the position of CEO while also prohibiting his involvement with the company for three years following his guilty plea.
However, Forbes revealed that despite the challenges, CZ’s net worth surged to an estimated $33bn, up from $10.5bn which it was in 2023. This 214.29 per cent surge pushed him to the rank of 50th-wealthiest person in the world.
Based on corporate documents and discussions with former employees, Zhao’s stake in Binance is estimated to be around 90 per cent valued at approximately $32.5bn.
Forbes’ analysis suggests that Binance generated approximately $9bn in revenue last year.