Introduction to the Crypto Billionaires Club
Every year, like clockwork, Forbes rolls out its illustrious list of crypto billionaires, and it’s starting to sound like that cheesy holiday song that gets stuck in your head. With the surge in digital asset values, this year’s list flaunts a whopping 19 billionaires – a 58% increase from last year. Somebody call a financial advisor; it’s getting crowded in the penthouse suite!
The Heavyweight Champion: Changpeng Zhao
At the top of this glittering pile of wealth is Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the illustrious CEO of Binance. He’s so rich he probably buys his coffee in Keurig pods made of gold. Although his estimated fortune took a tumble from $96 billion to $65 billion, he still retains the title of crypto king and ranks as the 19th richest person in the entire world. Talk about starting a new trend in humble-bragging!
Second Place: Sam Bankman-Fried
In the silver medal position, we find Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX. Dubbed the “Crypto Robin Hood,” this guy is sitting on $24 billion, claiming that he wants to give most of it away. We suggest he starts with a tip jar at his next crypto conference. Apparently, holding onto that cash is far easier than distributing it!
Rounding Out the Top Three: Brian Armstrong
In third place, we have Brian Armstrong from Coinbase, with a modest (in billionaire terms) $6.6 billion. For reference, that’s about enough to buy a small country, a fleet of private jets, or just a lot of really, really nice shoes.
New Faces in the Billionaire Squad
Joining the billion-dollar bash this year are the co-founders of FTX, like Gary Wang, who boasts a neat $5.6 billion thanks to his stake in the company. Adding to the fun, Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau, the masterminds behind Alchemy, stand tall at $2.4 billion each. And let’s not forget the NFT marketplace OpenSea’s co-founders, Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah, who are both claiming $2.2 billion. You’d think they’d have enough cash to diversify their sock drawer!
Other Noteworthy Billionaires
Among other notable mentions, South Korea’s Song Chi-hyung from Upbit comes in at $3.7 billion, while Kim Hyoung-nyon, his executive vice president, holds an estimated fortune of $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, who has been riding the Bitcoin wave, sees his fortune firmly placed at $1.6 billion. In a world where fortunes are made and lost faster than a WiFi connection, Saylor’s bet on Bitcoin seems to be paying off big time.
Looking Back and Forward
Forbes first introduced its crypto billionaires list back in 2018, when a measly $350 million was enough to get you a seat at the table. As if things weren’t wild enough back then! With the ongoing popularity of digital assets, we can only imagine what next year’s list might look like. Perhaps one day we’ll see the first trillionaire come from the crypto realm—now that would definitely make for a juicy headline!
+ There are no comments
Add yours