Changpeng Zhao (@cz_binance), better known as CZ, is a Chinese-Canadian cryptocurrency entrepreneur and founder of the Binance exchange. The future billionaire was born in China, but his family emigrated to Vancouver in the 80s. CZ received his education at McGill University in Montreal.
Zhao started his career in the financial industry with Bloomberg Tradebook in 2005, where he was a software developer. He later worked at Fusion Systems and Blockchain.info. In 2013, Zhao joined OKCoin after working in the team for more than 8 months. In the same year, CZ founded OKCoin, which was engaged in the development and technical support of software in the field of financial technologies.
On July 14, 2017, Zhao, along with Bijie Tech's descendants, decided to creat a Bitcoin exchange, which was named Binance. Binance is now the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, and Changpeng Zhao's fortune, according to 2024 data, is $59 billion dollars, making him the 26th richest person on the planet.
Barry Silbert
Barry Silbert is an American entrepreneur, investor and creator of Digital Currency Group.
Barry Silbert was born in 1976 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance and information technology from Emory University. Barry began his career in the financial industry working for Houlihan Lokey, a large multinational bank. In 2004, he founded his own company Restricted Stock Partners, specializing in the development of financial platform technologies. After expansion, the project was given a new name - SecondMarket, and after only two years of work it brought Silbert 2 million dollars.
Chris Larsen
The next step in Larsen's career was the creation of an online platform for peer-to-peer lending - Prosper Marketplace. The way the platform works is that borrowers can apply for a loan through Prosper's website, specifying the amount requested and the purpose of the loan. Private investors can then select borrowers' applications for funding based on various criteria such as credit rating, payment history, etc.
In 2012, Larsen left his position as CEO of Prosper Marketplace to join the team at OpenCoin, which later changed its name to Ripple Labs.
Ripple Labs developed blockchain technology that enables banks and financial institutions to conduct instant and low-cost international transactions using the XRP cryptocurrency.
Chris Larsen's personal wealth is $3.1 billion in 2024
