Billionaires who lost the most money due to crypto crash 2022 | Statista (2024)

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (commonly known as CZ) was the crypto billionaire who lost the most money following the crypto crisis of 2022, with a net worth drop amounting to 82 billion U.S. dollars. 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. The same five crypto chiefs who lost the most money in 2022 ranked as the five richest people in crypto before the market's crash.

Treasure in tatters: FTX founder arrested over fraud

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022, over wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Once the fourth largest crypto exchange in the world, FTX filed for bankruptcy following a liquidity crisis in November 2022. This happened after it tried to sell a considerable chunk of its operating business to rival Binance, only for the latter to walk away from the deal - stating that it was beyond its ability to help FTX solve its issues.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Bankman-Fried of setting up a scheme to defraud investors amid reports of the former FTX chief diverting customer funds to his Alameda Research hedge fund. Bankman-Fried has denied any wrongdoing, including allegations of him being aware of Alameda Research using FTX customer funds.

Billionaires who lost the most money due to crypto crash 2022 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Billionaires who lost the most money due to crypto crash 2022 | Statista? ›

Billionaires with largest net worth drop due to global crypto crash in 2022. Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (commonly known as CZ) was the crypto billionaire who lost the most money following the crypto crisis of 2022, with a net worth drop amounting to 82 billion U.S. dollars.

Who lost the most money at FTX? ›

Tom Brady is the most famous face to promote and invest in FTX — and he also may have suffered the greatest individual loss. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback owned over 1.1 million common shares of FTX Trading, which equaled about $45 million before the company went bankrupt, according to Bloomberg.

Who is the crypto billionaire in trouble? ›

Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in collapse of FTX crypto exchange. Former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years behind bars for his role in perpetrating one of the largest financial crimes in U.S. history.

How many people got rich off crypto? ›

Total Crypto Millionaires: Recent data indicates there are approximately 88,200 individuals worldwide who have achieved millionaire status through their investments in cryptocurrencies.

Who made the most money off of Bitcoin? ›

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, a software firm that has made heavy investments in bitcoin, is now worth an estimated $4.4 billion, compared to $760 million last year. Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, is worth an estimated $11.2 billion, up from just $2.2 billion last year.

Have any famous people lost money from FTX? ›

Star NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who received a multimillion-dollar deal to be the leading FTX brand ambassador, was estimated to lose $30 million in the aftermath of the collapse. Companies and venture capital firms also saw their money vanish.

How much money is still missing from FTX? ›

There's still around $1 billion of missing customer money that isn't accounted for, and which could have been used by FTX to fund bad trades at its affiliate hedge fund, Alameda.

Which crypto billionaire is in jail? ›

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul who perpetrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11bn in assets.

Who is the guy in jail for cryptocurrency? ›

Bankman-Fried, 32, sentenced for fraud on customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded. Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in United States federal prison for stealing $8bn from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

Which billionaire lost everything in Bitcoin? ›

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (commonly known as CZ) was the crypto billionaire who lost the most money following the crypto crisis of 2022, with a net worth drop amounting to 82 billion U.S. dollars.

Who is the richest person in crypto? ›

Binance's Changpeng Zhao Clings To Multibillion-Dollar Fortune After Guilty Plea. Changpeng Zhao became crypto's richest person while evading sanctions laws. His pleading guilty to money laundering charges is unlikely to change that–at least for now.

How likely is it to get rich from crypto? ›

The truth is that you can get rich by investing in crypto, but making money in crypto is the same as making money with any type of investment. To become rich, you have to do your research, work with a financial advisor, follow specific markets and make trades at the right time.

Can crypto still make you rich? ›

The crypto market offers an array of opportunities for financial growth, with widely known cryptos that have demonstrated substantial gains in the past. However, the best crypto that will make you rich needs to be researched strategically and thoroughly in order to avoid the risks and potential loss.

Has anyone made a billion dollars from Bitcoin? ›

There are 16 cryptocurrency billionaires in Forbes' ranking of billionaires. Sam Bankman-Fried is still on the list as the seventeenth, but Forbes lists the ex-CEO of FTX with no wealth. 4 There are likely many more billionaires who own crypto, but most do not publicize their holdings.

How much Bitcoin to be a millionaire? ›

So, 10 times from those levels would mean that Bitcoin could go as high as $350,000, Saylor said. If this is the case, you would need to own 2.86 BTC to become a millionaire. It would cost around $190,000 today.

How much does it cost to buy 1 Bitcoin? ›

The current price of Bitcoin is $62,702.57 per BTC.

Who lost the most money on crypto? ›

CharacteristicNet worth loss in billion U.S. dollars
Changpeng Zhao (Binance)82
Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX)23
Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)4.7
Gary Wang (FTX)1.7
1 more row
Nov 27, 2023

Who were the biggest investors in FTX? ›

Major FTX shareholders included Dan Loeb's Third Point, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, Softbank, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Temasek, Tiger Global Management and Coinbase, a crypto exchange competitor to FTX.

Did FTX users get their money back? ›

For FTX customers, being made whole, according to a judge's ruling, means getting the cash equivalent of what their crypto was worth in November 2022. In other words, they're not seeing any of the upside of FTX's investments or being given virtual coins that would allow them to cash out at higher valuations.

Where did the missing FTX money go? ›

The testimony backed up prosecutors' allegations that Bankman-Fried funneled money from customers at his FTX crypto exchange into Alameda, an affiliated hedge fund, for investments, political donations and expensive property before both companies collapsed.

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