This day of Nov. 8,
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.
But in the space of just three days, a series of bombshell allegations led to the spectacular collapse of FTX and a bankruptcy of its own. Bankman-Fried's personal wealth dropped by a staggering 94% in 24 hours - the biggest one-day fall ever suffered by a billionaire, according to Bloomberg.
News of the death of prominent crypto developer Nikolai Mushegian was truly shocking due to Tweets that predicted his oncoming doom. Mushegian was well known in crypto circles for his work as the founder of the stablecoin DAI. The brilliant developer was found face-down in the sea off Puerto Rico in October of 2022.
Recently, the internet can't stop talking about the deaths of three cryptocurrency giants that have been reported in the media weeks from each other. The "mysterious" deaths of crypto investors Nikolai Mushegian, 29, Tiantian Kullander, 30 and Vyacheslav Taran, 53, have drawn a lot of internet attention.
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.
Elon Musk has broken the world record for the largest loss of personal fortune in history, according to a Guinness World Records report. The tech billionaire has lost approximately $182bn (£150bn) since November 2021, although other sources suggest that it could actually be closer to $200bn, the report said.
Guinness World Records: Elon Musk has lost more money than anyone in history : NPR. Guinness World Records: Elon Musk has lost more money than anyone in history Musk has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in recent years, largely due to Tesla stock plummeting.
The man with the most to lose is Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, crypto's largest exchange, a sprawling global network of murky subsidiaries. CZ, as he's known, has an estimated 70% stake in Binance, which Forbes' values at $4.5 billion–down from $65 billion in March.
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.”
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.”
The crypto crash has seen the number of Bitcoin millionaires decline by more than 75% since November last year.
The biggest loser (in dollar terms) is Sam Bankman-Fried, the 29-year-old founder of quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research. A former Wall Street trader, Bankman-Fried was worth $16.7 billion at Bitcoin's peak on May 10, but is now down to $11.5 billion as of Wednesday afternoon.
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.
No one has lost more than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is $57 billion poorer than a year ago, thanks to a 38% plummet in the e-commerce giant's stock.
Walton Family- $247 Billion:
The Walton family is the world's richest family, with an estimated net worth of $247 billion. The majority of the family's wealth comes from their ownership of Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, founded in 1962 by Sam Walton.
Seen as titans in their industry, Tiantian Kullander and Nikolai Mushegian were both found dead just weeks apart in the wake of the crypto market downturn. Tiantian Kullander, who co-founded the multibillion crypto exchange Amber Group, died while sleeping on Nov. 23 at age 30.
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.
Authorities identified Algaba, 41, by his tattoos and fingerprints. An autopsy revealed he had been shot at least three times before the dismemberment took place, Complex reports, citing Spanish outlet El País.
Key findings. A higher percentage of cryptocurrency investors have lost money than made it. 38% of Americans who've held a form of the currency say they've sold it for less than when they bought it, versus 28% who say they made a profit. Only 13% say they broke even.