As Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire imploded last week, costing him effectively all of his $15.6 billion fortune, other digital-asset billionaires sought to make clear that their steep losses in 2022 wouldn't be similarly fatal.
Zhao was followed by FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who lost a reported 23 billion dollars in only three weeks prior to his arrest over conspiracy and fraud charges in late 2022. Despite his losses, Zhao was still the wealthiest individual in the crypto world as of December 2022.
Its billionaire promoters have lost a combined $110 billion in the last year, according to Forbes' 2023 World's Billionaires List, an annual compilation of ten-figure fortunes. Last year Forbes identified 19 crypto billionaires, the most ever, who were worth a collective $140 billion.
In addition to any lasting reputational damage, Brady and his supermodel ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, have likely lost most or all of the sizable financial stake they had in FTX. The crypto space has long been awash with A-listers.
Losing more money than you make
It's not that no one has made money off crypto. In fact, our survey finds that of those who've had crypto, 28% sold it for more than it was worth. But a higher rate of investors — 38% — sold their crypto for less than it was worth when they bought it. Another 13% broke even.
Tom Brady apparently lost millions after cryptocurrency company FTX collapsed last fall. The longtime NFL quarterback served as an ambassador for FTX and frequently appeared in commercials for the company.
The four crypto billionaire deaths within a month gave fuel to several conspiracy theories among the crypto community. One user associated the string of deaths with a mafia-style hit job and said that the “crypto world is taking a page from the mafia handbook.”
1. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) – Founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is one of the richest crypto billionaires in the world.
The three notable crypto luminaries who died within a few weeks of one another were Nikolai Mushegian, 29, Tiantian Kullander, 30, and Vyacheslav Taran, 53. Crypto has been in the headlines due to the fall of FTX, which has increased the amount of attention given to crypto-cyber news.
The crypto crash has seen the number of Bitcoin millionaires decline by more than 75% since November last year.
A massive sell-off in cryptocurrencies wiped over $200 billion of wealth from the market in just 24 hours, according to estimates from price-tracking website CoinMarketCap. The broad plunge in the crypto complex, driven by the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, hit major tokens hard.
Bloomberg put it this way: “Bankman-Fried's Assets Plummet From $16 Billion to Zero in Days.” The story under that headline reported that Bankman-Fried's entire fortune had been “wiped out” in “one of history's greatest-ever destructions of wealth.”
FTX. The Bahamas-based exchange shocked the crypto world by going bankrupt in November after suffering withdrawals of about $6 billion in just 72 hours and rival crypto exchange Binance ditched a possible rescue. FTX's affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research also filed for bankruptcy.
Based on net worth calculations by Bloomberg, Bankman-Fried was worth about $16 billion at the start of the week. But as his crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed, the value of his assets was reduced to zero in what Bloomberg called “one of history's greatest-ever destructions of wealth.”
But on Friday, Sam Bankman-Fried, a curly-haired crypto king and Democratic mega-donor who claimed to be reinventing digital finance, gave up a week-long fight to save FTX, which in three short years since being launched had become the world's second largest digital currency exchange.
30-year-old crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried reveals how he made his billions.
The largest holder of Bitcoin is believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin. Nakamoto is estimated to own approximately 1,000,000 BTC, worth around $27.13 billion.
Tiantian Kullander, who co-founded the multibillion crypto exchange Amber Group, died while sleeping on Nov. 23 at age 30.
Argentinian cryptocurrency influencer, Fernando Perez Algaba, who had been missing for over a week, was tragically found dead on Wednesday. According to a report by New York Post, his remains were discovered inside a suitcase near a stream in Buenos Aires.
A crypto millionaire is a person who has amassed millions of dollars through cryptocurrency investments. Some have established lucrative crypto-related enterprises and become rich. However, the path to becoming a crypto millionaire is typically treacherous and arduous.
Unfortunately late in 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy. With stakes on the cryptocurrency exchange, Curry lost millions of dollars after the firm's debacle. Fortunately, Curry's popularity, endorsement deals, and NBA contract will be able to save him from this financial setback.
When the Cleveland Browns decided to drop Odell Beckham Jr. from their team, the Los Angeles Rams signed the wide receiver, OBJ opted to take his entire NFL salary in Bitcoin. At the time, Bitcoin was hitting all-time highs and breaking currency records and was even worth approximately $64,000 USD per coin.
Earlier this year, the United Nations reported that North Korea had stolen more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year. International monitors have said that the stolen money has been pumped into North Korea's sanctioned nuclear and missile programs.