How China’s crypto king went from McDonald’s to billionaire: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao worked as fast food cook – today he’s one of the richest people in the world with a net worth of US$30 billion
- The Chinese-born Canadian crypto mogul Changpeng Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and led the company to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume
- With a net worth of US$30 billion today, the unpresuming Zhao once worked at McDonald’s and Chevron in his teens and says that moving to Canada ‘changed my life forever’
Changpeng Zhao is the founder and CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. With a net worth of around US$30 billion as of October 25, he is the 33rd richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Zhao – who’s often known as CZ – is one of the most prominent people in cryptocurrency, as well as the wealthiest person in the industry.
But the crypto winter has taken a toll across the industry, and Zhao is no exception. His real-time estimated net worth is a far cry from the peak of his personal wealth. His net worth peaked at US$95.9 billion earlier this year, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows.
Zhao’s interest in cryptocurrency
Zhao’s interest in cryptocurrency began in 2013 when he first learned about bitcoin, according to a 2018 Forbes report. His career in the up-and-coming digital currency industry started at Blockchain.info, where he served as the head of development.
Zhao founded Binance in 2017 and powered it to become the biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. According to Protocol, the exchange handles around US$76 billion in daily trading volume. In 2021 alone, Binance generated over US$20 billion in revenue and it is bigger than its four largest competitors combined reported Bloomberg.
Zhao and Binance did not respond to Insider’s requests for comment.