What Happened to Changpeng Zhao’s Wealth During His Prison Stay?

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, has likely continued to increase his wealth during his recent four-month stay at the Lompoc II detention center in California.

While in detention, Zhao’s estimated net worth saw a substantial decrease. Bloomberg reported that his wealth dropped from approximately $36.5 billion on June 2 to around $30.8 billion by September 27. This assessment was conservative, as it assigned a zero value to his Bitcoin and Binance Coin holdings and reduced the valuation of his equity in Binance.com by 50%, based on industry peers.

In contrast, Forbes disagreed with Bloomberg’s calculations, suggesting that Zhao may have actually earned billions while incarcerated. Their estimate placed his net worth at $61 billion on the same date, implying a daily income of about $25 million over the four months.

Forbes did not provide a detailed methodology but indicated that Zhao’s net worth was $33 billion on May 7 and $57.8 billion by July 12. This discrepancy suggests Forbes included Zhao’s cryptocurrency holdings and applied a less conservative approach to valuing his equity.

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If correct, it indicates that Zhao could have earned at least $3 billion during his prison term, significantly exceeding the lifetime earnings of many executives.