Binance Boss CZ Is Richest Ethnic Chinese Person Alive, Report Claims

Binance Changpeng Zhao Exchange
Author
Author
Tim AlperVerified
Part of the Team Since
Jan 2018
About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

Last updated: 
Changpeng Zhao. Source: a YouTube video screenshot.

 

The Binance Founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is the richest ethnic Chinese person alive, a new article has claimed – although mainstream Chinese media outlets appear reluctant to report on the news.

The claim was made by the outspoken media outlet Caijing on Weibo and reported on in detail by numerous Chinese-language outlets, many of which are based outside Mainland China. The mainland’s mainstream outlets, however, all maintained a stony silence on the matter.

The media outlet noted, quoting data from unnamed “insiders,” as well as previously published information from Forbes that Binance was being valued at USD 300bn, adding that Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian, owns 30% of Binance’s shares. If these calculations are correct, it explained, the Binance chief is now worth USD 90bn.

This valuation, Caijing added, “means that Zhao has become the richest [Chinese] man and ranks among the top 10 richest people in the world.”

The media outlet was quick to point out that the beverages giant Nongfu Spring’s founder, Zhong Sui Sui, is the mainland’s richest man and the second-richest Chinese in the world – and that Zhao is now worth 35% more than him. 

Next on the list came ByteDance (the TikTok operator) Founder Zhang Yiming, followed by Zeng Yuqun, the Founder and Chairman of the Ningde Times media empire. Bottom of the top five was the Tencent supremo Ma Huateng.

But Zhao appeared to question the logic behind the calculations with a tweet featuring some mathematics of his own.

Regardless, Chinese-speaking netizens were impressed. On Weibo, one highly upvoted comment read:

“He is the richest man [on the list] just by virtue of holding Binance shares. The value of his cryptocurrency holdings has not even been taken into account. He’s a person who can be rightly compared to Elon Musk.”

Cryptonews.com’s own Baidu and Google searches for recent news on Binance and Zhao produced precious little in the way of mainstream reporting on the matter in China, despite the fact that the Caijing post was made over 24 hours ago.

Indeed, trying to find Mainland Chinese reports on anything crypto-related – including Binance itself – is proving to be an ever-more-difficult task, as some observers have been discovering.

____

Learn more:
Elon Musk Throws ‘Shade’ at Binance Over DOGE Handling, CZ Bites Back
Binance Resumes DOGE Withdrawals, Says ‘No Shade Intended’

Binance Is ‘In Talks with Sovereign Wealth Funds’, Boosts Irish Presence
Binance Releases Bill of Rights for Crypto Users

Binance Boss CZ Only Has Eyes for Bitcoin and BNB
Binance Makes USD 1bn in Total, CEO Confused About BNB Price

2M+

Active Monthly Users Around the World

250+

Guides and Reviews Articles

8

Years on the Market

70

International Team Authors
editors
+72 More
At Cryptonews, we aim to make cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Web3 understandable, and information available to everyone, no matter what level you are in your investment journey. Founded in 2017, Cryptonews has been dedicated to delivering reliable, multilingual coverage of the cryptocurrency industry.

Best Crypto ICOs

Discover trending tokens still in presale — early-stage picks with potential.

Explore Our Tools

Smart tools made for everyday crypto users

Market Overview

  • 7d
  • 1m
  • 1y
Market Cap
$3,213,315,345,850
3.4
Trending Crypto

More Articles

Industry Talk
Best New Meme Coin to 100x in 2026 – January 2
Simon Chandler
Simon Chandler
2026-01-02 23:40:00
Price Analysis
Solana Price Prediction: Wall Street Investor Scaramucci Picks SOL as Top Altcoin for 2026 – $1,000 SOL Incoming?
Simon Chandler
Simon Chandler
2026-01-02 23:30:00
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors