Forbes: Changpeng Zhao Amassed $25 Million Daily During Incarceration

The fortune of Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) grew by approximately $3 billion during his prison term, according to an estimate by Forbes.

This suggests that the entrepreneur “earned” about $25 million for each of the 117 days of his incarceration, as noted by Protos.

On April 30, a court sentenced Zhao on charges of money laundering and other illegal activities. Prior to this, as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice, he agreed to pay a $50 million fine and step down as CEO of the exchange.

On June 1, CZ arrived at the federal prison in Lompoc, California, to serve his four-month sentence. He was scheduled for release on August 29, but was freed two days earlier as the set date fell on a weekend.

As of September 27, Forbes estimated Zhao’s net worth at $61 billion. The nearest archived data from the publication regarding the Binance founder’s wealth at the start of his imprisonment dates to May 7 ($33 billion) and July 12 ($57.8 billion). This led to the assumption that his wealth increased by at least $3 billion during his time in prison.

Much more conservative estimates are provided by Bloomberg. According to the agency, as of June 2, CZ’s assets were valued at $36.5 billion, which decreased to $30.8 billion by September 27.

Unlike Forbes, Bloomberg discloses its calculation methodology. Experts do not account for Zhao’s bitcoins and BNB tokens, as their amounts are unknown. They also consider his 86% stake in Binance.US to be zero, as the platform supports only cryptocurrency trading without fiat transactions. In 2022, the American branch of the exchange was valued at $4.7 billion following a funding round.

In effect, the agency includes only Zhao’s stake in Binance itself (90% according to some reports) in his net worth. Analysts calculate this based on trading volumes. They use average enterprise value-to-sales ratios of public counterparts like Coinbase Global, Galaxy Digital Holdings, and Riot Platforms, applying a 50% discount due to institutional and regulatory risks.

Earlier in September, Binance permanently removed Zhao from management. However, the current CEO of the exchange, Richard Teng, emphasized that CZ remains the largest shareholder.