Is CZ Really Richer Than Bill Gates? Binance Founder Dismisses Forbes' $110 Billion Estimate

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who served four months in a US federal prison before receiving a presidential pardon, now holds a paper fortune of $110B (£87B) on the Forbes 2026 World's Billionaires list, placing him above Bill Gates.

But the figure is disputed by Zhao himself, and a $30B gap between two of the world's leading wealth trackers raises a question ordinary crypto investors should take personally: if nobody can agree on what Binance is worth, how reliable are the valuations in their own portfolios?

Forbes published its 2026 list on 10 March, ranking Zhao, widely known as CZ, 17th globally after a $47B leap from the prior year. Gates sat at $105.9B in the 19th. Nearly all of CZ's estimated wealth sits in one asset: his roughly 90% ownership stake in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

A $30B Disagreement Nobody Can Settle

By 28 June 2026, Forbes' real-time tracker had CZ at $107.7B and Gates at $105.9B. Bloomberg's Billionaires Index pegged CZ at approximately $78B. That $30B gulf is wider than the entire market capitalisation of most FTSE 100 companies.

The reason is structural. Binance is privately held, publishes no audited accounts, files no quarterly earnings, and has no publicly traded shares. CZ himself told followers on X on 11 March 2026 that Forbes was off the mark. 'Definitely not accurate. This is a "guess a number" list, at least for me. Bitcoin/crypto is down 50% from ATH,' he wrote. He followed up: 'Crypto prices dropped by more than 50% in 2026 already. And my net worth went up? Wish they could apply some common sense and basic logic.'

He also disputed revenue assumptions, stating that Binance's annual revenue was roughly $5B, not the $16B figure cited by some analysts.

From Prison Cell to Presidential Pardon

CZ's wealth story cannot be separated from his criminal record. In November 2023, he pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act over inadequate anti-money laundering controls. Binance paid $4.3B (£3.4B) across the US Department of Justice, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. CZ personally paid a $50M (£40M) fine, stepped down as CEO, and was sentenced on 30 April 2024 to four months in prison.

On 23 October 2025, President Trump granted CZ a full and unconditional pardon, per the US Department of Justice clemency record. Trump called the prosecution a 'witch hunt' while stating, 'I don't know who he is.'

The pardon drew sharp criticism. US Senator Elizabeth Warren accused Trump of 'selling pardons to wealthy allies,' pointing to ties between Binance and the Trump family's crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. Binance had helped write the code for World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, and a $2B investment in Binance by Emirati firm MGX used that token, per correspondence from Warren and Senator Jeff Merkley.

What the Valuation Gap Means for Your Portfolio

On X, @TEX_Wallet summarised the arc in four words: 'From prison to passing Bill Gates,' alongside an infographic showing CZ's real-time Forbes ranking at 18th. Arthur Hayes, the pardoned co-founder of BitMEX, posted: 'Welcome to the club @cz_binance.'

For ordinary investors, the takeaway is uncomfortably direct. If two of the world's most sophisticated financial data operations cannot agree within $30B on what one company is worth, the confident valuations attached to smaller crypto tokens deserve serious scrutiny. BNB, Binance's native token, traded at roughly $554 on 28 June 2026, per CoinGecko data, down roughly 60% from its all-time high of approximately $1,370.

Concentration risk matters too. CZ's fortune rests almost entirely on one private, unaudited company under regulatory pressure across multiple jurisdictions. That is not a portfolio. It is a single bet, and one that even its owner says nobody can accurately price.

Disclaimer: Our digital media content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct your own analysis or seek professional advice before investing. Remember, investments are subject to market risks, and past performance does not guarantee future returns.