Changpeng Zhao
Canadian business executive; founder and former chief executive of Binance
| Changpeng Zhao
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 2 1977 (age 49 years old (as of 2026)
) China |
| Occupation | business executive |
| Known for | Founder and former CEO of Binance |
Changpeng Zhao (born 5 February 1977) is a Canadian business executive, founder and former chief executive of Binance.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Zhao 18th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$114.6 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Cryptocurrency exchange.[2]
Background
Born 5 February 1977 in Jiangsu, China; Canadian citizen.[1]
Education
No education record was found in the sources checked.
Career and companies
Built high-frequency trading systems before founding the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in 2017; former CEO.[1]
In its 2021 Crypto rich list profile text, Forbes stated: "Customers pay Binance in cryptocurrencies, not cash."[1]
How the wealth was made
An estimated 90% of Binance plus BNB tokens (Forbes).[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this person in its annual World's Billionaires list in 8 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2018. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[3][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1650 | 1.4 | – | – |
| 2019 | 1818 | 1.2 | – | – |
| 2021 | 1664 | 1.9 | – | – |
| 2022 | 19 | 65.0 | – | – |
| 2023 | 167 | 10.5 | – | – |
| 2024 | 50 | 33.0 | – | – |
| 2025 | 24 | 62.9 | – | – |
| 2026 | 17 | 110.0 | – | – |
Philanthropy
No specific philanthropic commitments were found in the sources checked.
Political donations and public roles
Not a US citizen, so US federal donation records were not searched; no political donations were found in the sources checked.
Controversies and legal cases
On 21 November 2023 Binance pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act, unlicensed money-transmitting and IEEPA sanctions violations (total penalty $4,316,126,163). Zhao, described by the DOJ as “a Canadian national”, pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering programme and resigned as CEO. The DOJ release cites customers in sanctioned jurisdictions including Iran.[4] Forbes reports he paid a $50 million fine and served four months in prison. President Trump pardoned him in October 2025.[1][5]
On 27 March 2023 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged Zhao and three Binance entities in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Binance’s former chief compliance officer, Samuel Lim, was charged with aiding and abetting.[6] On 5 June 2023 the SEC filed 13 charges against Binance entities and Zhao, including allegations that customer funds were commingled and diverted to entities owned by Zhao, among them Sigma Chain and Merit Peak.[7] The SEC’s civil action was dismissed with prejudice on 29 May 2025.[8] On 30 April 2024 Zhao was sentenced in Seattle to four months in prison. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors had asked for a three-year term, and that he had pleaded guilty and stepped down as Binance CEO in November 2023 as the company agreed to pay $4.3 billion.[9]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
Company-level: in October 2023 Israeli police said they froze Hamas-linked crypto accounts with Binance’s help; Israel had previously seized around 190 Binance accounts it said had terror ties.[10]
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
Company-level: Abu Dhabi’s state-owned MGX announced a $2 billion investment in Binance in March 2025.[11]
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Home country (Canada): no documented involvement found in sources checked. United States: guilty plea (2023) and pardon (2025), see above.[4][5]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Changpeng Zhao (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/changpeng-zhao/) Forbes, live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 U.S. Department of Justice, Binance and CEO Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in $4B Resolution U.S. Department of Justice, 21 November 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Associated Press, Trump pardons Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, high-profile cryptocurrency figure Associated Press, 23 October 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Release Number 8680-23 (CFTC charges Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao) U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 27 March 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Files 13 Charges Against Binance Entities and Founder Changpeng Zhao (press release 2023-101) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 5 June 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 26316: Binance Holdings Limited; BAM Trading Services Inc.; BAM Management US Holdings Inc.; Changpeng Zhao U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 29 May 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Associated Press, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months for allowing money laundering Associated Press, 30 April 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ CoinDesk, Hamas-Linked Crypto Accounts Frozen by Israeli Police, With Binance's Help: Report CoinDesk, 10 October 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ CNBC, Binance secures ‘largest investment ever’ in crypto as Abu Dhabi’s MGX pledges $2 billion CNBC, 12 March 2025 (updated 13 March 2025), accessed 20 October 2026.