Zhao vs Zhang Yiming
Binance and ByteDance.
The differences
- Forbes puts Changpeng Zhao about $13.8B ahead of Zhang Yiming.Forbes figures from 30 Sep 2026 and 4 Sep 2026.
- Both started the company their money comes from.
- Changpeng Zhao is about 6 years older than Zhang Yiming.
- Changpeng Zhao is from Canada; Zhang Yiming is from China.
- Changpeng Zhao has held a public or government advisory role; Zhang Yiming has none on record.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Zhao
Zhang YimingThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $115BForbes, 30 Sep 2026
- $101BForbes, 4 Sep 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $82.1BBloomberg, 9 Oct 2026
- $105BBloomberg, 10 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 16Real-Time list, 30 Sep 2026
- No. 28Real-Time list, 16 Jun 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- 2018First year on Forbes' World's Billionaires list: Forbes says he 'debuted' on it in March 2018 with $4 billion
Where it came from
- How it started
- Co-founded itBinance lists him as co-founder and says he launched Binance in July 2017; Forbes labels him self-made
- Co-founded itByteDance was founded in 2012 by a team led by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo; Forbes labels him self-made
- Main source
- Binance, a cryptocurrency exchangeForbes: source of wealth 'Cryptocurrency exchange'
- ByteDance stock (TikTok, Douyin, Toutiao)Bloomberg: 'Zhang Yiming's wealth is derived from his stake in ByteDance'
- Companies
- BinanceBinance: Co-founder and former CEO
- ByteDanceByteDance: Co-founder; no executive role
- Biggest stake
- Binance100% owned
- ByteDance21% owned
The person
- Born
- 1977Jiangsu, China
- 1983Yongding District, Longyan, Fujian, China
- Country
- CanadaLives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- ChinaLives in Singapore
- Education
- Bachelor's degreeComputer science degree, McGill University, Montreal
- Bachelor's degreeBachelor of Engineering, Nankai University (graduated 2005)
- Parents
- 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
- The only son of civil servants, raised in Longyan, Fujian province
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Not a signer
- Foundation
- Giggle AcademyA free online education platform for children that he founded; described as a platform, not a foundation
- Not stated
- Lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- Founder, no executive roleCo-founder and former CEO of Binance
- Founder, no executive roleCo-founder of ByteDance; left the CEO post in May 2021 and the chairmanship later that year
- Successor
- Richard Teng succeeded him as Binance CEO in November 2023; co-founder Yi He became co-CEO alongside Teng in December 2025
- Liang Rubo, ByteDance co-founder, became CEO in 2021 and is chairman
- Public office
- Strategic Advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council2025
- None found
- Legal record
- 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.
- None found
