Forbes names 11 crypto billionaires

Forbes compiled a list of the wealthiest figures in the cryptocurrency industry based on 2020 results. It was led by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong with $6.5 billion, followed by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried with $4.5 billion and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen — $2.9 billion.

The magazine’s calculations took into account not only the value of digital assets but also stakes in companies connected to the individuals and traditional assets.

Also in the list were:

• MicroStrategy chief Michael Saylor — $2 billion;
• Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao — $1.9 billion;
• Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — $1.6 billion each;
• Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert — $1.5 billion;
• co-founder and former Ripple CTO Jed McCaleb — $1.4 billion;
• venture capitalist Tim Draper — $1.1 billion;
• co-founder of Bloq Matthew Roszak — $1 billion.

Cryptocurrency values are as of January 19, 2021 and may be indicative. In an exclusive ForkLog interview with Zhao in late 2019, before Bitcoin’s current highs, he valued his fortune at more than $2 billion.

In Forbes’ January 11 list of crypto-millionaires who made their fortunes from the surge in cryptocurrencies, Saylor’s figure stood at $600 million, more than three times lower than Forbes’ current valuation.

That range was wide even then. In Forbes’ first ranking of the wealthiest figures in the cryptocurrency industry in February 2018, Zhao’s fortune was estimated at between $1.1 billion and $2 billion.

The Winklevoss brothers, Brian Armstrong, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and US private investor Matthew Mellon were then included on the billionaire list only at the upper end of their wealth estimates.

That same conservatism could have underpinned Forbes’ 2020 billionaire ranking in April last year. It included only four crypto-industry figures — Bitmain co-founders Micree Zhang ($3.2 billion) and Jihan Wu ($1.8 billion), as well as Chris Larsen ($2.6 billion) and Brian Armstrong ($1 billion).

Earlier in the list of the most promising young entrepreneurs in finance Forbes included seven cryptocurrency-industry figures.

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