UpdatesApr 30, 2023

Changpeng Zhao in the third place of billionaires in the Bloomberg ranking. Binance CEO strongly denies this data

The CEO of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange was ranked as the 3rd richest person in the world according to Bloomberg.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, was critical of the latest list of the richest people in the world published by Bloomberg. A well-known businessman in the crypto industry reported that the value of his assets is much lower than the one presented in the Bloomberg ranking.

Changpeng Zhao: I don't have that much money

Bloomberg published a new list showing the richest people in the world according to certain criteria. The presented list of billionaires is about entrepreneurs who have managed to build their fortune over the last decade. The report does not include people over 70 at the time of publication of the data and those who have withdrawn from the markets in which they operated in the last decade.

Among the billionaires listed by Bloomberg was the CEO of the Binance exchange, Changpeng Zhao. This popular cryptocurrency entrepreneur was ranked as the third richest person in the world (based on the above criteria), with an estimated net worth of $28.2 billion.

However, Zhao vehemently denied having such a huge fortune as presented in the document compiled by Bloomberg. The CEO of Binance also stated that Bloomberg journalists have inaccurate data on his assets and the Binance exchange itself.

In the entry published on Twitter, he began his statement with the number 4. This entry should most likely be interpreted as meaning that the CEO of Binance should be ranked 4th in the Bloomberg ranking. This means that his actual fortune ranges from the $20.2 billion reportedly owned by Dan Gilbert, based on the same ranking, to the $14.5 billion reportedly owned by Uday Kotaka.

– The figures presented by Bloomberg are wrong. I definitely do not have assets close to the numbers given in the report, which was prepared by journalists of the Bloomberg website. I don't know why they wrote that," said Binance's CEO.

Binance CEO vs. FUD

The reaction of the Binance CEO is another move on his part, which aims to draw public attention to the problem of inaccuracy of information that appears in numerous mainstream media reports regarding the valuation of assets based on digital currencies. This is not the first time that Zhao corrects the data on the state of his assets. This entrepreneur has repeatedly referred to reports about himself as FUD. In colloquial language, it is a term for sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt. Zhao stated that these kinds of practices are often used against him and his company.

In February this year, the entrepreneur referred to the narrative presented about him in the latest Forbes report. This document contains information that allegedly proves that the cryptocurrency exchange made a mysterious financial operation last year in the form of a $1.8 billion transfer. Zhao responded by saying that "Forbes has no idea how the Binance exchange works."