Walton vs Zhao
Walmart and Binance.
The differences
- Forbes puts Alice Walton about $8.6B ahead of Changpeng Zhao.Forbes figures from 12 Oct 2026 and 30 Sep 2026.
- Alice Walton: inherited it. Changpeng Zhao: co-founded it.
- Alice Walton is about 28 years older than Changpeng Zhao.
- Alice Walton is from United States; Changpeng Zhao is from Canada.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Walton
ZhaoThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $123BForbes, 12 Oct 2026
- $115BForbes, 30 Sep 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $137BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026
- $82.1BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 15Real-Time list, 30 Sep 2026
- No. 16Real-Time list, 30 Sep 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- Not stated
Where it came from
- How it started
- Inherited itOnly daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton; Bloomberg calls her an heir to the fortune he created in Walmart
- Co-founded itBinance lists him as co-founder and says he launched Binance in July 2017; Forbes labels him self-made
- Main source
- Walmart stock held mostly through the Walton Family Holdings Trust and Walton EnterprisesBloomberg: 'The majority of Alice Walton's fortune is derived from Walmart'
- Binance, a cryptocurrency exchangeForbes: source of wealth 'Cryptocurrency exchange'
- Companies
- WalmartWalmart: None; trustee of family holding entities
- BinanceBinance: Co-founder and former CEO
- Biggest stake
- WalmartStake not stated
- Binance100% owned
The person
- Born
- 7 Oct 1949Newport, Arkansas, United States
- 1977Jiangsu, China
- Country
- United StatesLives in Fort Worth, Texas, United States
- CanadaLives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Education
- Bachelor's degreeBA in economics, Trinity University
- Bachelor's degreeComputer science degree, McGill University, Montreal
- Parents
- Daughter of Sam and Helen Walton, who ran a five-and-dime store before Sam opened the first Walmart in 1962Before her philanthropy she worked in finance: equity analyst, founder of an investment bank, vice chairman of Arvest Bank Group
- Mother a teacher, father an academic who took a job at the University of British Columbia; the family moved to Canada in the late 1980sBloomberg profile; Forbes adds that his father, a professor, was temporarily exiled shortly after Zhao was born
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Not a signer
- Foundation
- Alice L. Walton FoundationFounded 2017; she also founded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (2005) and the Art Bridges Foundation (2017)
- Giggle AcademyA free online education platform for children that he founded; described as a platform, not a foundation
- Lifetime giving
- $2BForbes, 16 Sep 2026. Forbes: more than an estimated $2 billion of her funds paid out by five family foundations through 2024; she has put more than $6 billion into them, plus at least $250 million to the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- No roleFounder of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Art Bridges Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation
- Founder, no executive roleCo-founder and former CEO of Binance
- Successor
- Greg Penner, Rob Walton's son-in-law, chairs Walmart's board; John Furner became CEO in 2026Two Walton family members sit on the board as non-management directors
- Richard Teng succeeded him as Binance CEO in November 2023; co-founder Yi He became co-CEO alongside Teng in December 2025
- Public office
- Member, Smithsonian American Women's History Museum Advisory Council2021-
- Strategic Advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council2025
- Legal record
- 1979: US SEC; 1998: Municipal court (Judge Stanley Ludwig)In a settled SEC proceeding concerning her work at E.F. Hutton, the SEC found she had wilfully violated or aided and abetted violations of securities antifraud rules and suspended her from the securities industry for six months from January 30, 1979. A municipal judge found her guilty on four counts, including driving while intoxicated and refusing a blood-alcohol test, after she contested the charges at trial.
- 2023: US DOJ; 2023: US CFTC (court order)Pleaded guilty on November 21, 2023 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by causing Binance to fail to implement an effective anti-money-laundering program; Binance separately pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3 billion. A federal court in Seattle sentenced him in 2024 to four months in prison, and Forbes reports he paid a $50 million fine. He received a full and unconditional presidential pardon on October 21, 2025. The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the CFTC's settlement with Binance and Zhao and entered a consent order requiring Zhao to pay a $150 million civil monetary penalty.
