Cryptocurrency mogul Changpeng Zhao, estimated to be the richest man in crypto at $114 billion, returned to Abu Dhabi following a four-month U.S. prison sentence and a presidential pardon. Binance, the exchange he founded, has established a lucrative business relationship with the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial.
Driving a white Nissan S.U.V. with his iPhone mounted on the windshield, Changpeng Zhao arrived at the St. Regis resort in Abu Dhabi one morning in June according to the New York Times. Estimated to be worth $114 billion, the industry figure known as “CZ” lives in a nearby nine-bedroom villa equipped with four bodyguards, a chef, and a yacht named Da Moon, yet he often presents himself as a normal person.
American prosecutors initiated criminal proceedings against Zhao concerning his leadership of Binance, a digital asset platform characterized in judicial filings as a sanctuary for Islamic State terrorists, individuals circumventing Iranian sanctions, and Russian financial criminals. Zhao pleaded guilty, served a four-month prison sentence, and returned to Abu Dhabi while remaining Binance’s majority shareholder.
President Trump pardoned Zhao last October. In the wake of the clemency decision, Binance established a commercial partnership with World Liberty Financial, a digital currency enterprise created by President Trump alongside his three sons. Last year, World Liberty generated $799 million for President Trump, making it his single most lucrative asset and outperforming his real estate portfolio and social media business.
Zhao Advises Governments And Builds Ties in Abu Dhabi
At 49 years old, Zhao travels across Asia on his private jet to advise governments on crypto regulation, often preceded or followed by announcements of new regulatory breakthroughs for Binance following stops in cities such as Islamabad or Manila. In Abu Dhabi, he enjoys close ties with ruling families, including the clan running the United Arab Emirates, which seeks his assistance in building a technology powerhouse in the desert.
In February, he went skiing with the president of Kyrgyzstan, who gifted him a Taigan, an elegant Central Asian dog breed likened to a gazelle. Zhao noted that the president initially insisted on giving him a full-sized tent before settling on the dog.
Zhao engages in jurisdictional arbitrage—moving between countries to find legal frameworks accommodating his appetite for risk and growth. In Abu Dhabi, he appears to have established an ideal base of operations, residing near the presidential palace, Qasr Al Watan, whose white dome resembles the Taj Mahal.
Zhao Publishes Memoir And Manages Binance Empire
Zhao maintains narrow personal interests. He self-published a memoir this year titled Freedom of Money
, in which he recounts receiving an after-hours tour of the Louvre. The experience left him cold, writing that the guide might as well have been playing piano to a cow
.
Standing tall and thin with short dark hair and a Binance tattoo on his forearm, Zhao lacks the typical frat-bro swagger found among many crypto peers. He appears polite and attentive during meetings.
He continues to manage an empire that still hasn’t stanched the flow of dirty money according to reporting by David Yaffe-Bellany.
