Changpeng Zhao Denies Being Among Top 3 Finance Billionaires

According to a recent article published by Bloomberg about the world's “rich list”, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao ranks among the top three finance billionaires in the world.

CZ took to Twitter to set the record straight

However, CZ has denied this information, taking to Twitter to set the record straight. Bloomberg reported his personal net worth to be around $28.2 billion, which the CEO of the world’s biggest crypto exchange by trading volume vehemently denied. He tweeted on April 27:

Numbers all wrong. I don't have anywhere near as much. Don't know why they do this.

How far off were they?

Inexplicably, CZ started his tweet with “4.” CoinTelegraph presumes this means he is the fourth-richest person on the ranking. This would put him somewhere between Dan Gilbert and Uday Kotak, whose net worth is $19.4 billion resp. $13 billion.

CZ also said he had never seen the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX as a competitor. Instead, he assured the crypto space would welcome more “well-run” exchanges.

CZ is a mainstream media critic

CZ has consistently been critical of mainstream media’s representation of the crypto industry. He has been outspoken against reports by mainstream news sources like Bloomberg and Forbes. He has frequently characterized these as being marred by FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).

In February this year, CZ responded to an article published in Forbes Magazine, which accused his exchange of perpetrating a “backroom maneuver” in a recent transaction worth almost $2 billion. CZ said Forbes didn’t “know how an exchange works.”

A regulator adversary

Binance has also had issues with regulators. Most recently, Bankless Times wrote that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against the exchange and its CEO over a host of alleged violations. These involved futures contracts and derivatives and “sham” compliance with laws.