Crypto Slump Fails to Stop CZ as Binance Founder Overtakes Bill Gates With $108 Billion Fortune

Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has overtaken Bill Gates in Forbes' real-time billionaire rankings, even as the crypto market has struggled through volatility, regulatory pressure and a sharp pullback from previous highs.

The wealth tracker valued Zhao's fortune at $107.7 billion (£84.9 billion) as of 28 June, placing him above Gates, whose estimated net worth stood at $105.9 billion (£83.5 billion). But other wealth trackers have placed Zhao's fortune significantly lower, highlighting the difficulty of valuing a privately held company at the centre of the digital asset industry.

Binance Ownership Is the Foundation of CZ's Fortune

Unlike many crypto fortunes tied directly to Bitcoin, Ethereum or other digital assets, Zhao's wealth is primarily connected to his ownership stake in Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded in 2017.

Forbes estimates Zhao owns roughly 90% of Binance, giving him exposure to one of the world's largest crypto trading platforms by volume.

Because Binance is privately held, there is no public share price that determines the value of Zhao's stake. Wealth trackers instead rely on estimates based on factors including company performance, revenue, market position and broader industry conditions.

Forbes has estimated that Binance generates around $16 billion (£12.6 billion) in annual revenue, with the company earning primarily through trading fees and other services offered to users.

That means Zhao's reported fortune does not necessarily move in direct line with crypto prices. The value of Binance depends on the performance and valuation of the exchange itself, not only the price of individual tokens.

Why Forbes and Bloomberg Show Different Numbers

How do you measure a fortune built around a private exchange when the wider market behind it has faced a prolonged downturn? The answer lies in how differently the two trackers approach the same problem.

Bloomberg's Billionaires Index estimates Zhao's wealth at around $78.2 billion (£61.6 billion), with Gates listed at roughly $104 billion (£81.9 billion), a gap of nearly $30 billion from Forbes' figure.

The difference reflects the challenge of valuing a privately held company such as Binance. Unlike Microsoft, where Gates' wealth can be measured through publicly traded shares, Binance has no daily market price.

Wealth trackers must estimate the value of Zhao's stake using factors including Binance's revenue, market position, trading activity and broader conditions in the digital asset sector.

Bloomberg applies additional adjustments, including liquidity discounts, which can significantly affect estimates for private companies and crypto-related assets.

The gap between the two figures highlights a wider issue with crypto billionaires: fortunes built around private platforms can change depending on how analysts measure the underlying business.

CZ Questioned Forbes' Wealth Estimate

Zhao has previously challenged estimates suggesting his fortune increased sharply while crypto markets weakened.

In March, after Forbes published an estimate showing his wealth had risen despite falling crypto prices, Zhao responded on X, writing: 'Didn't read the Forbes article, but if you just look at the little chart, you know it's wrong.' He added: 'Crypto prices dropped by more than 50% in 2026 already. And my net worth went up?'

On 28 June, Zhao again questioned a claim about the increase in his wealth after a post on X stated that his net worth had jumped $47 billion (£37 billion) in a single year even as crypto prices fell over 50 per cent. He responded: 'How is that last sentence possible?'

The comments reflect the wider difficulty of measuring wealth connected to private digital asset companies, where valuations can move differently from the broader crypto market.

CZ Got Richer While Crypto Faced a Downturn

Zhao's rise comes during a period of pressure for the crypto industry. Digital assets have experienced repeated volatility, increased regulatory scrutiny and a decline from earlier market highs. Several major crypto companies have also collapsed or faced legal challenges during the downturn.

But Binance's business model differs from a traditional crypto investment portfolio. The exchange operates as infrastructure for digital asset markets, providing trading services for millions of users globally. Its value is linked to activity on the platform, revenue generation and its position within the industry.

That has separated Zhao's fortune from many crypto investors whose wealth rises and falls alongside token prices.

The Challenge of Measuring Crypto Wealth

Zhao's rise also follows one of Binance's biggest regulatory tests. In 2023, Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion (£3.4 billion) settlement with US authorities after regulators accused the exchange of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Zhao stepped down as chief executive after pleading guilty to violating US anti-money laundering rules and was later sentenced to four months in prison. Richard Teng, a former regulator and Binance executive, replaced him as the company moved to strengthen its compliance operations.

Despite that settlement, Binance remained one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges and the difficulty of valuing it privately remains the central question around Zhao's wealth. The difference between Forbes and Bloomberg's estimates reflects how hard it is to price a business without publicly traded shares, particularly in an industry where market conditions can change rapidly.

Zhao remains one of the wealthiest figures connected to cryptocurrency, with his fortune tied less to daily token prices and more to the value assigned to the exchange that helped shape the digital asset market.