The 12 crypto billionaires who made Forbes’ 2021 Billionaires list
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is the world’s richest for the fourth year running, worth $177bn, while Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, rocketed into the number two spot with $151bn, as their shares surged, according to the Forbes 2021 World’s Billionaires list released on Tuesday.
The number of crypto billionaires on the list increased to 12 this year from just four last year.
The group’s composition—investors, builders, and issuers—reflects how the crypto ecosystem is evolving, and who’s getting rewarded, according to Forbes.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, worth $3 billion each
The twin brothers and former Olympic rowers who sued Facebook turned their $65 million settlement into personal fortunes of $3 billion each. The siblings began buying Bitcoin in 2012. They’ve also launched crypto exchange Gemini and purchased digital art auction platform Nifty Gateway.
Michael Saylor, $2.3 billion
The CEO of software firm MicroStrategy made, and lost, a fortune during the first dot-com bust. Saylor is now worth $2.3 billion after snapping up Bitcoin ahead of the boom—for both himself and his company, pushing its stock up.
Matthew Roszak, $1.5 billion
The longtime crypto evangelist discovered Bitcoin in 2011; his early crypto investments are valued at $1.5 billion today. Roszak is now the chairman of Bloq, a blockchain infrastructure company, and an early-stage investor in crypto startups.
Tim Draper, $1.5 billion
In 2014, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist bought $18.7 million worth of Bitcoin that had been confiscated by U.S. Marshals from the shuttered Silk Road black market. Those coins are now worth $1.5 billion.
Sam Bankman-Fried, $8.7 billion
Bankman-Fried is crypto’s wealthiest billionaire. The 29-year-old MIT grad founded the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research and popular derivatives exchange FTX. He made headlines in 2020 with his $5 million donation to a super-PAC that supported Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
Brian Armstrong, $6.5 billion
The fortune of the CEO and cofounder of Coinbase more than sextupled over the past year amid the boom in crypto investments. Coinbase has established itself as the dominant U.S. crypto exchange, generating over $1 billion in revenues last year. The firm recently filed to go public.
Fred Ehrsam, $1.9 billion
Ehrsam cofounded Coinbase with Armstrong in 2012. He left the company in 2017 but remains a board member, and his 6% stake is worth an estimated $1.9 billion. Today, Ehrsam leads the crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm.
Changpeng Zhao, $1.9 billion
The founder of crypto exchange Binance has returned to the three comma club. The global surge in cryptocurrency investments boosted Binance’s valuation; Zhao owns an estimated 30% stake in the company.
Barry Silbert, $1.6 billion
Silbert’s fortune is tied up in Digital Currency Group, the crypto conglomerate he founded in 2015. Among DCG’s holdings are the crypto news site CoinDesk and asset management firm Grayscale, which controls $44 billion worth of Bitcoin, Ether and other assets.
Chris Larsen, $3.4 billion
The cofounder and chairman of Ripple grew his fortune by $800 million as his firm’s XRP token soared in value. He holds over 3 billion XRPs and a 17 per cent stake in Ripple Labs.
Jed McCaleb, $2 billion
McCaleb, another Ripple cofounder, derives the bulk of his wealth from his holding of 3.4 billion XRPs. He also owns an estimated 1 billion Stellar Lumens, the cryptocurrency he cofounded in 2014 after a falling out with his Ripple colleagues.
