Binance CEO denies his net worth is $28 billion: 'Numbers all wrong'

Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has yet again challenged estimates of his personal wealth.

This time, Zhao commented on a report published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, which estimated his wealth at $28.2 billion and ranked him as the world's third-richest person in the finance category.

"Numbers all wrong," Zhao tweeted. "I don't have anywhere near as much. Don't know why they do this." He also called it a "4",  his personal code for "Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc."

CZ has repeatedly denied estimates of his wealth before

This isn't the first time Zhao, who is known by his initials "CZ," has denied reports of his wealth.

Last June, the Guardian, citing the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates, reported that Zhao's wealth had fallen by more than $75 billion since January, to $20.6 billion. Referring to the $75 billion number, Zhao said: "I actually have no idea how they come up with those numbers. You need to understand that net worth are just estimates. When I look at my wallet, I don't have anywhere close to any of those numbers."

Last October, Business Insider reported Zhao's net worth at $30 billion, and at the time, he tweeted: "Too much focus on net worth, who cares."

There have been several estimates of Zhao's wealth over the years. Last year in April, Forbes estimated his wealth at $65 billion. Last year in January, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at $96 billion, saying that the number doesn't take into account his personal crypto holdings, which include bitcoin and Binance's own token, BNB. Meanwhile, Zhao has tweeted several times that he has no fiat money.

Some industry analysts once even estimated his net worth to be $200 billion, and therefore possibly the wealthiest person on earth, outshining Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin. When someone asked Zhao about it on Twitter today, he said: "No way. I am a small potato in a small (but growing) industry. Those guys are 100x bigger, or more."

In 2021, Zhao told the Associated Press that he intends to donate up to 99% of his wealth. He also tweeted about it but has since deleted the tweet.

A Binance spokesperson declined to comment on Zhao’s actual net worth.

Binance and CEO sued by CFTC

Binance has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny in various countries over the years. The company and Zhao both were sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission last month for allegedly operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program. Zhao, at the time, called the suit "unexpected and disappointing" and said, "We do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint."