In 2023, Changpeng Zhao’s wealth rose by $25 billion despite legal issues.

According to reports, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, increased his net worth by almost $25 billion since December 2022. As of December 25, CZ had a total net worth of $37.2 billion, up $24.6 billion from the previous year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Following Uniqlo CEO Tadashi Yanai and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin in the rankings, this shift made the former CEO of Binance the 35th richest person in the world. Bloomberg stated With a net worth of $232 billion, down 25% from an estimated $340 billion in November 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has surpassed all other men in the world’s wealth rankings. According to the news outlet, Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has increased his net worth by $5.77 billion so far this year, to $7.25 billion.
Zhao, who was barred from leaving the country prior to his sentencing in February 2024, may spend a maximum of eighteen months behind bars for his Bank Secrecy Act violations. As part of a $4.3 billion deal with U.S. authorities in November, he entered a guilty plea to one count of felonies.
Prior to his sentencing hearing, CZ’s attorneys requested that the judge permit him to visit Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; however, the court rejected their request. Until February, the former CEO of Binance is probably going to be able to move freely within the nation thanks to a $175 million bond. Even if the majority of Binance’s and CZ’s legal issues were resolved in November, they are still being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a complaint against them in June. Several enforcement actions are still ongoing by the SEC against Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, Binance, and other cryptocurrency exchanges.