Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reportedly added roughly $25 billion to his net worth since December 2022.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of Dec. 25, CZ had a total net worth of $37.2 billion — a year-to-date increase of $24.6 billion. This change placed the former Binance CEO as the 35th highest-ranked billionaire, ahead of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and behind Uniqlo CEO Tadashi Yanai.
Bloomberg reported Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the title of the world’s wealthiest man with a net worth of $232 billion — a 25% decrease from an estimated $340 billion in November 2021. The news outlet reported that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had a net worth of $7.25 billion, with a year-to-date increase of $5.77 billion.
Appreciate the support. But will try to stay off twitter for a while. https://t.co/ApqEOzXHIa
— CZ BNB (@cz_binance) December 9, 2023
Zhao, prevented from traveling outside the United States before his sentencing in February 2024, faces up to 18 months in prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. He pleaded guilty to one felony count as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities in November.
Related: US court approves settlement against Binance, firm to pay $2.7B to CFTC
CZ’s lawyers petitioned a judge to allow him to travel to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates before his sentencing hearing — a motion the court denied. The former Binance CEO will likely remain free to travel within the country on a $175 million bond until February.
Though the November settlement largely ended many of Binance’s and CZ’s legal troubles, both still face a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June. The SEC has several enforcement cases pending against Binance, Kraken, Ripple, Coinbase, and other crypto exchanges.
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