Forbes magazine published ranking of the richest and most influential cryptocurrency billionaires in the world. It included former head of the Binance exchange Changpeng Zhao, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Bitcoin maximalist Michael Saylor and others.
Top three
Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao – first place
The magazine estimated his fortune at $33 billion. This is three times more than in 2023, according to Forbes. The note about him says that CZ was forced to leave his post as CEO of the exchange and paid about $200 million in fines, but this “hardly affected him.”
The Forbes report also states that CZ's stake in Binance is about 90% and is valued at $32.5 billion.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong – second place
Forbes estimated his fortune at $11.2 billion ($2.2 billion in 2023). The article states that Armstrong is the company's largest individual shareholder with an 18% stake.
The growth of his savings is directly related to the company’s position in the market. Coinbase shares have risen significantly in 2023. In 2024, this position was also marked by a jump in quotations despite the negative forecasts of some experts.
Tether CFO Giancarlo Devasini – third place
The magazine estimated his wealth at $9.2 billion. The Forbes article also states that Devasini is believed to be the firm's largest individual investor with a 47% stake.
His wealth, according to the publication, is largely the result of the growth of Tether. The company’s stablecoin, USDT, occupies a leading position in the segment, its capitalization exceeded $100 billion. Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, Tether’s net profit amounted to $2.85 billion.
Full list
The rating also includes the following people:
- MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor – $4.4 billion;
- Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino – $3.9 billion;
- former Tether CEO Jean-Louis van der Velde – $3.9 billion;
- Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen – $3.2 billion;
- Coinbase founder Fred Ehrsam – $3.2 billion;
- early Bitcoin investor Matthew Roszak – $3.1 billion;
- founder of the failed Mt. Gox and Ripple Labs co-founder Jed McCaleb – $2.9 billion;
- Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – $2.7 billion each;
- head of Galaxy Digital Holdings Mike Novogratz – $2.5 billion;
- general advisor at Tether and Bitfinex Stuart Hegner – $2.5 billion;
- venture investor and one of the early investors in Bitcoin Tim Draper – $2 billion;
- Alchemy co-founders Nikhil Viswanathan and Joe Lau – $1.5 billion each.
Source: Cryptocurrency
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