Changpeng Zhao's Wealth Soars Despite Prison Time, Forbes Estimates $61 Billion Net Worth

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, likely continued to grow his wealth during his four months in California’s Lompoc II detention center. He recently completed his sentence, finishing two days early.

According to Bloomberg, Zhao’s net worth took a significant hit while he was in prison. On June 2, his wealth was estimated at $36.5 billion. By September 27, it had dropped to around $30.8 billion. Bloomberg used a conservative approach. They valued Zhao’s holdings in Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), and Binance.us at zero. Plus, they cut the value of his Binance.com equity by 50%, based on averages from similar companies like Coinbase and Galaxy Digital.

However, Forbes disagrees with Bloomberg’s calculations. They believe Zhao may have actually earned billions while incarcerated. Forbes estimates his net worth at $61 billion on the same date. This suggests that Zhao had a daily income of about $25 million during those four months.

Forbes didn’t fully explain their method, but their figures show that Zhao’s net worth was $33 billion on May 7 and $57.8 billion on July 12. This stark difference indicates that Forbes likely includes Zhao’s crypto holdings and applies a less conservative discount on his equity in Binance. Their estimate implies that Zhao could have gained at least $3 billion while in prison.

Forbes focuses mainly on wealth from equity in privately held Binance-related companies. If this is correct, it means Zhao made more money during his time in prison than many executives do in a lifetime.

As reported by BeInCrypto, Zhao was released from prison on September 27, two days earlier than planned. He spent a total of 117 days at Lompoc II, a minimum-security facility near Santa Barbara.

It’s important to note that these figures are estimates. The companies Zhao is involved with are private, and he isn’t required to publicly disclose his assets. This makes it challenging to accurately assess his net worth. Bloomberg rated its confidence in its estimate as one out of five, indicating the lowest level of certainty.