👤 A brief biography of Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
•Full name: Zhao Changpeng, nickname CZ. Born on February 5, 1977, in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China.
•Migration: In 1989, at the age of 12, the family moved to Vancouver, Canada, after the events in Tiananmen Square.
•Education: Graduated with a degree in Computer Science from McGill University (Montreal, Canada).
•Early career experience: Worked at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Tradebook developing trading software.
•Startup: Founded Fusion Systems in Shanghai (2005), specializing in high-frequency trading software. Became CTO at OKCoin and contributed to Blockchain.info.
•Binance: Founded in July 2017 through an ICO, quickly rising to become the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by early 2018.
•Withdrawal & legal: Stepped down as CEO in November 2023 after pleading guilty to money laundering charges in the U.S., serving a 4-month prison sentence in early 2024.
💰 Ranking and wealth.
•According to Forbes (June 2025), CZ has a net worth of approximately $65.7 billion, ranking 24th among the richest people in the world, and is also the richest among people of Chinese descent.
•In other reports, his wealth fluctuates: $62.9 billion, $64.8 billion, but all affirm his position in the global top 25.
