Binance founder CZ, Changpeng Zhao has overtaken Bill Gates on Forbes’ latest billionaire rankings becoming worth $110B.
Author: Sahil Thakur
Steady attention without excessive speculation.
11th March 2026 – Binance founder CZ, Changpeng Zhao has overtaken Bill Gates on Forbes’ latest billionaire rankings, according to Forbes’ 2026 rich list and real-time tracker. Forbes currently values CZ at about $110 billion to $111 billion, which places him ahead of Gates at roughly $106 billion to $108 billion. On that basis, CZ now ranks around No. 17 globally, while Gates sits around No. 19.
That makes the headline broadly accurate, at least by Forbes’ methodology. Forbes also says CZ’s fortune jumped by about $47 billion over the past year, pushing him into the small group of people with 12-figure net worths.
High Signal Summary For A Quick Glance
borovik
@3orovik
CZ Binance is richer than Bill Gates How is he worth $111 BILLION??? https://t.co/Bq9cz9kDhk
12:49 AM·Mar 11, 2026
Elja
@Eljaboom
CZ Net worth flipping Bill Gates according to Forbes https://t.co/Y1bPWHJi8m
11:40 PM·Mar 10, 2026
Umair Nauman
@UmairNauman_
BREAKING: @cz_binance is now ranked #17 on the world’s billionaire list, according to the latest Forbes rankings. He has also surpassed Bill Gates in the rankings. 🔥 https://t.co/AJsX4Ahi6x
06:01 PM·Mar 10, 2026
The main driver is Binance. Forbes attributes most of CZ’s wealth to an estimated roughly 90% ownership stake in the exchange and values Binance at about $100 billion. Forbes also points to Binance’s dominant global market share, estimated annual revenue, and massive trading volumes as the basis for that valuation.
In addition, Forbes includes CZ’s holdings in BNB and a relatively small Bitcoin position of about 1,400 BTC. Taken together, those assets have lifted him above other ultra-wealthy names such as Michael Bloomberg in Forbes’ ranking.
Key milestones in CZ’s wealth accumulation
CZ had at least around $1 million available to invest, marking the clearest early sign that he had already become a millionaire.
Binance went live and rapidly became one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges, creating the foundation for CZ’s massive wealth growth.
Less than a year after Binance launched, CZ’s fortune was estimated above $1 billion, putting him into the billionaire ranks.
As crypto valuations and Binance’s dominance climbed, CZ’s net worth jumped dramatically into the top tier of global fortunes.
CZ’s estimated fortune rose to roughly $110 billion, placing him among the richest people in the world.
Gates’ ranking reflects a very different wealth profile. Forbes says his fortune is now spread across a broad investment portfolio rather than being concentrated in Microsoft stock. His net worth has also been reduced over time by large charitable donations and post-divorce wealth adjustments.
So this is not just a story about CZ getting richer. It is also about Gates continuing to give away large amounts of wealth while CZ’s core asset, Binance, has rebounded sharply.
Source: Forbes Billionaire List
There is still a major gap between billionaire trackers. Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index currently puts Bill Gates at about $106 billion and ranks him much higher than CZ. Bloomberg places CZ far lower, at around $49 billion.
That difference mostly comes down to methodology. Forbes appears much more aggressive in valuing Binance and CZ’s private holdings, while Bloomberg takes a more conservative view. Other rankings also vary widely. Hurun, for example, recently estimated CZ at just $29 billion.
Even with those differences, one point is clear. CZ’s wealth has surged back dramatically after his legal troubles, resignation from Binance leadership, and prison sentence. Forbes now places him among the richest people on earth and ahead of Bill Gates on its list.
So the claim holds if you are using Forbes as the benchmark. It does not hold across every wealth index. That distinction matters, but the headline itself is grounded in Forbes’ current numbers.
UPDATE: In an X comment, CZ mentioned that the numbers were not accurate because of the dip in the Bitocin/crypto markets.
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