Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao's Wealth Soars by $9.8B

On September 20, 2026, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, saw his net worth increase by $9.76 billion to $91.2 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker. This 12% gain in a single day is attributed to the rising value of his stake in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.

Since the beginning of the year, Zhao's fortune has risen by $41.5 billion, an 83.6% increase, as reported by the Bloomberg billionaire index. Zhao, who holds approximately a 90% stake in Binance, has wealth primarily based on the estimated value of his ownership in the exchange.

Binance reportedly generated about $5.4 billion in transaction-fee revenue, leading to an estimated total revenue of $10.7 billion. A significant factor in Zhao's wealth increase this year was Bloomberg's adjustment of Binance's valuation methodology.

Additionally, Zhao received a presidential pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump in October 2025 after serving a four-month prison sentence for failing to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering controls at Binance.