Six new bitcoin billionaires have been added to the Forbes 400 rich list for this year. These are all well-known names in the cryptocurrency business. These six individuals join a Ripple co-founder who made the list last year.
Seven names, in total, have now been added to the list of crypto billionaires. This is the first time seven cryptocurrency billionaires have made the Forbes list of America’s most affluent.
$55 billion in combined wealth
According to a Forbes story published on October 5, the crypto billionaires are worth a total of $55 billion. Chris Larsen, who co-founded Ripple in 2012, will be joined by the newcomers.
Larsen resigned as chief executive of Ripple in December 2016. He does, however, continue to serve as executive chairman. With a net worth of $2.7 billion, he was on the list last year.
His net worth is currently estimated to be around $6 billion. Despite the ongoing legal tussle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Ripple’s net worth increased.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the biggest crypto billionaire, is also among the newcomers. His net worth is $22.5 billion, according to Forbes, which is about half of the total crypto value on the list.
The 29-year-old is the youngest on the list and the wealthiest under 30 since Mark Zuckerberg. Bankman-Fried is the founder and chief executive of FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange.
Other billionaires on Forbes list
Coinbase co-founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam are also on the Forbes list. Armstrong is believed to possess nearly 20% of Coinbase. Ehrsam departed the company in 2017, however, he remains on the board of directors. He’s also the co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm Capital, a crypto-focused investment company.
The twin co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, are also the new entrants. Each of them has a net worth of $4.3 billion.
Finally, Jed McCaleb, an early pioneer in the blockchain sphere, is a Forbes first-timer. He co-founded Ripple and served as its chief tech officer until 2013. Mt. Gox, the first major bitcoin exchange, was also founded by him. His XRP holdings as a Ripple co-founder account for the majority of his $3 billion net worth.
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