Changpeng Zhao facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Changpeng Zhao
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Zhao speaking at the 2022 NFT Summit
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| Born | February 5, 1977 Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China
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| Nationality | Canadian, UAE |
| Other names | CZ |
| Alma mater | McGill University (BSc.) |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Co-founder and former CEO of Binance |
| Spouse(s) |
Yang Weiqing
(m. 2003) |
| Partner(s) | He Yi (2014–) |
| Children | 5 |
Changpeng Zhao (Chinese: 赵长鹏; pinyin: Zhào Chángpéng), commonly known as CZ, is a Chinese-born Canadian businessman. Zhao is the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume as of November 2023[update] He resigned as the CEO in November 2023 after pleading guilty to a money laundering charge in the United States and was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zhao was ranked the 69th-richest person in the world, and richest Canadian overall, with a net worth estimated at $23 billion as of November 2023[update]
Contents
Early life and education
Zhao was born in Lianyungang in China's Jiangsu province. In the late 1980s, when he was 12 years old, he immigrated with his family to Canada, settling down in Vancouver, British Columbia. His parents were both schoolteachers in China. His father worked as a university instructor before he was branded a "pro-bourgeois intellect" and exiled to rural areas shortly after Zhao's birth. During his teenage years in Canada, Zhao helped to support his family by holding down a number of service jobs, including working as a fast-food clerk at a McDonald's restaurant and a gas station.
Zhao attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, where he majored in computer science.
Early career
After graduating from McGill, Zhao was selected for an internship in Tokyo working for a subcontractor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, developing software for matching trade orders. He later went to work full-time for four years at Bloomberg Tradebook where he was a developer of futures trading software.
Business career
In 2005, Zhao moved to Shanghai to launch his business career, where he established his first technology startup company called Fusion Systems, which was known for "some of the fastest automated high-frequency trading platforms and systems for stockbrokers." Zhao first heard of Bitcoin in 2013 when playing poker with Bobby Lee (brother of Charlie Lee) who would later go on to found BTCC. Lee advised Zhao to put 10% of his money into bitcoin. Zhao instead "went all in" and sold his apartment in Shanghai and invested all of his wealth in Bitcoin, much to his family's dismay.
In 2013, Zhao was a member of the team that developed Blockchain.info and he also served as Chief Technology Officer of OKCoin.
In 2022, Zhao invested $500 million through Binance to finance the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk.
Binance
After its launch in July 2017, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange was able to raise $15 million in an initial coin offering, and trading began on the exchange eleven days later. In less than eight months, Zhao grew Binance into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume (as of April 2018). Zhao also launched Binance Coin in 2017; this is a utility token that gives its owners various benefits, such as discounts on trading fees. In April 2019, Binance launched Binance Smart Chain, which has smart contract functionality and is an Ethereum competitor.
In February 2018, Forbes placed him third on their list of "The Richest People In Cryptocurrency," with an estimated net worth of $1.1-2 billion.
In 2019, Zhao launched Binance's U.S. affiliate, Binance.US. Binance withdrew its application to run a Singapore-based crypto exchange in 2021.
Personal life
Zhao is a Canadian and UAE citizen. Born in China in 1977, Zhao acquired a Canadian visa in 1989 and left China that same year after the events of Tiananmen Square. In 2022, Zhao said that he had acquired Canadian citizenship some 30 years before, around 1992. In 2005, he moved back to China, eventually owning an apartment in Shanghai. In 2015, he sold his Shanghai apartment and used the funds to purchase Bitcoin. Zhao stayed in China until the Chinese government banned crypto exchanges in late 2017. He is currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Zhao met his wife Yang Weiqing in 1999 and they married in 2003. They have two children. Although still married to Yang, Zhao has been in a "life partner" relationship with his business partner and fellow Binance co-founder, He Yi, since they met in 2014. They have three children together.
Philanthropy
Zhao has said he plans to donate up to 99% of his wealth, following the philanthropic examples of other global business magnates and investors such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. "I intend to donate most of my wealth, as many other entrepreneurs or founders have done, from Peabody to today. I intend to donate 90%, 95%, or 99% of my wealth."
See also
In Spanish: Changpeng Zhao para niños
