CZ Owns 64% of BNB Chain Tokens, Making Him the 24th Richest Person in the World: Forbes

According to an exclusive Forbes report on June 14, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) owns a staggering 64% of the circulating supply of BNB Chain (BNB)

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is now the 24th richest person in the world, according to the latest Forbes net worth index. With an estimated net worth of $61 billion, CZ ranks just after Julia Koch and her family.

CZ’s immense wealth is largely attributed to his ownership of a staggering 64% of the circulating supply of BNB Chain (BNB), formerly known as Binance coin. This massive BNB stockpile was acquired in two primary ways.

During Binance’s creation in 2017, CZ and the founding team received 80 million tokens from the total supply of 200 million BNB. However, Forbes’ analysis of the wallets that received these tokens reveals that the company holds 46.2 million of the original 80 million tokens.

“Forbes’s analysis suggests that CZ is credited with 41.6 million BNB from this batch, given his 90% ownership of Binance at the time.”

Furthermore, an investigation by Forbes and Gray Wolf in October 2023 revealed that Binance’s ICO was initially undersubscribed. As a result, CZ and his company funneled the unsold portion into wallets he controlled. Currently, these wallets hold an estimated 58 million BNB, valued at $35 billion at today’s price. Considering CZ’s 90% ownership of Binance, he would have just over 52 million additional BNB from this batch.

In total, Forbes believes CZ owns nearly 94 million BNB tokens. However, the report applied a 50% liquidity discount to his stake, as there is little chance Zhao could get near the full value if he tried to sell. Currently, BNB’s trading volume is about $1.6 billion worth of tokens per day.

Despite CZ’s guilty plea and settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2023, which included a $50 million fine and his stepping down as CEO, Binance has become more dominant among crypto exchanges worldwide.

According to The Block, Binance’s share of the total spot market has increased to 42% in the six months since CZ left the company, up from an average of 38% in the two months before his settlement.

As CZ serves his four-month sentence in California’s Lompoc II federal correctional facility, BNB has been on a tear in 2024, surging 100% and outpacing other top cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL). This surge has contributed significantly to CZ’s growing net worth, which now stands at $61 billion, according to the Forbes net worth index.

The report also highlights the lack of transparency surrounding Binance’s inner workings, as the company has never undergone an audit. Additionally, more than 53% of all BNB trading occurs on Binance’s own exchange, raising questions about the token’s true liquidity and value.

Despite these concerns, CZ's wealth continues to grow as he watches his BNB billions increase from behind bars. The former CEO’s story serves as a testament to the cryptocurrency industry’s unpredictable and often controversial nature.

News source：https://www.kdj.com/cryptocurrencies-news/articles/cz-owns-bnb-chain-tokens-th-richest-person-forbes.html

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