Forbes reports that CZ's net worth is in the hundreds of billions, surpassing Bill Gates! He himself: Bitcoin has crashed completely, what a joke.

Forbes estimates CZ’s net worth at $110 billion, ranking him as the 17th richest person in the world. CZ refutes the valuation logic as distorted, questioning the use of bull market data to calculate Binance’s value.

Recently, Forbes published its annual global billionaire list, claiming that Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has seen a shocking surge in wealth, reaching $110 billion, even richer than Microsoft founder Bill Gates. In response to this “god-like” hype, CZ appeared particularly clear-headed, immediately posting to point out the logical flaws in Forbes’ estimate and politely rejecting the title of “17th richest person in the world,” which he sees as disconnected from reality.

Forbes’ “Thousand-Billion Dollar Empire”

According to Forbes’ estimate, CZ’s net assets have skyrocketed by $47 billion in just one year, reaching a total of $110 billion. This astonishing figure not only makes him the 17th richest person globally but also places him among the exclusive “trillion-dollar club” with only 20 members worldwide.

The report notes that over the past year, some of CZ’s minor assets have slightly decreased— for example, the 1,400 Bitcoin he holds have lost about 25% of their value, now worth around $100 million; meanwhile, his large holdings of Binance Coin (BNB) have remained stable. However, Forbes believes that the true driving force behind CZ’s wealth surge is still his self-built crypto empire: Binance.

Although CZ stepped down as CEO in 2023, Forbes, through interviews with industry insiders and comparisons with publicly listed competitors like Coinbase, estimates Binance’s current valuation at up to $100 billion. According to past legal documents, CZ owns up to 90% of Binance.

Blockchain data analysis firm Artemis analyst Zheng Jie Lim stated in the report: “Binance’s revenue estimates for 2024 and 2025 are between $16 billion and $17 billion, roughly 2.5 times Coinbase’s ($6.6 billion).”

He further added that Binance’s annual trading volume in spot and derivatives markets exceeds $30 trillion, plus the BNB Chain (market cap about $88 billion) and its extensive ecosystem, Forbes believes that even if Binance faces valuation discounts due to lack of US regulation backing, its near 38% market share makes it a trading giant with a valuation still reaching hundreds of billions of dollars if sold.

CZ Stunned: The Market Crashed, and They Still Call Me Rich?

After Forbes’ billionaire list was released, CZ immediately paid close attention, posting multiple messages on social platform X, directly pointing out the flaws in Forbes’ estimate:

This is definitely inaccurate. To me, it’s just a “blind guess” list.

CZ found Forbes’ logic even more unbelievable: “I didn’t even bother to click on that article. Just a glance at the chart shows how absurd it is. Cryptocurrency prices in 2026 have already halved, yet my net worth is still soaring? I really wish they’d add some common sense and basic logic when writing these articles.”

He even switched to Chinese, venting in a down-to-earth tone:

They don’t even look at how much Bitcoin (the nickname for the market in crypto circles) has fallen? Rich or not?

To highlight how ridiculous Forbes’ estimate is, CZ directly compared it with traditional tech giants.

He pointed out that, according to public data, ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok) has annual revenue of up to $150 billion, but Forbes’ estimate of founder Zhang Yiming’s net worth is only $69 billion; in contrast, CZ revealed Binance’s estimated annual revenue is around $5 billion (a huge gap from Forbes’ $16-17 billion), yet his own net worth is claimed to be $110 billion, which seems overly inflated.

“This is just too far off,” CZ joked at the end of the post: “I think if I go around bragging about how rich I am, they’ll probably lower my ranking or even kick me off the list. Mainstream media just loves to contradict you.”

Image source: X/@cz_binance

How is $110 billion actually calculated?

Indeed, after carefully examining Forbes’ report, Crypto Insider also found it difficult to derive the $110 billion figure from publicly available data.

Looking ahead to 2026, the crypto market is experiencing a “mini winter,” with major coins and overall market cap shrinking significantly. Amidst plummeting trading volumes and a bear market environment, Forbes used revenue data from 2024 and 2025 bull markets for valuation, which insiders see as lacking credibility.

This controversy sparked by the billionaire list not only exposes the valuation blind spots often seen in Wall Street and mainstream financial media when dealing with the crypto industry but also reveals that this legendary figure in crypto remains outspoken and true to himself when facing money and fame.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: Crypto Insider
• Original title: Forbes estimates CZ’s net worth exceeds $100 billion, surpassing Bill Gates! The real person: The market has crashed, and they call me rich
• Original author: Crypto Girl MEL