Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has publicly rejected a Forbes estimate that pegged his net worth at $110 billion, a figure that would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Responding on X (formerly Twitter), CZ questioned the logic behind the ranking, highlighting a claimed $47 billion surge in his fortune over a single year while crypto markets fell by more than 50%.
Forbes attributed the jump to a rebound in Binance’s valuation, noting that CZ still owns an estimated 90% of the exchange, which reportedly generates around $16 billion in annual revenue. However, for CZ the math “simply doesn’t add up.” He quoted the publication’s summary directly: “His net worth jumped $47 BILLION in a single year even as crypto prices fell over 50%,” adding, “How is that last sentence possible?” The discrepancy is especially stark given that many other crypto moguls saw their wealth shrink during the same period.
Community voices quickly backed CZ. X user TCC (@TCryptochicks) pointed out that the billionaire has long dismissed such lists as inaccurate, calling them a “guess a number” exercise. CZ endorsed this view with a simple reply: “TCC is right.” The exchange highlights the broader difficulty of valuing privately held crypto businesses, where revenue and asset prices can diverge sharply from public market trends.
