The McDonald's Flipper Who Became the World's Richest Man—Almost Locked Out by His Own Security Guard
You won't believe the ultimate crypto rags-to-riches story: CZ (Changpeng Zhao). He flipped burgers at McDonald's and worked night shifts at gas stations. Later, he became the richest Chinese person on earth—worth over $90 billion at his peak, beating Jack Ma. But here's the kicker: he built Binance, the world's largest exchange, and almost got locked out by his own security guard.
In 2021, CZ dropped by his Hong Kong office on a whim. The front desk guard didn't recognize him and refused entry: "No appointment, you're not in the system." CZ pulled out his passport. The guard was even more confused: "Zhao Changpeng? Who's that? Isn't the boss called CZ?" It took the CEO personally coming down to fetch him before the guard realized—the guy in the plaid shirt with a backpack was the same "Bro CZ" who dropped red envelopes in the group chat.
Here's the cold truth: When Binance launched in 2017, the team was just 30 people crammed into a Shanghai apartment. CZ had no private office—he sat in the open area, ordered takeout with everyone, and ate instant noodles. Today, Binance has over 8,000 employees, but CZ still doesn't have a fixed desk—first come, first served. His words: "The bigger the company, the more you need to remember where you came from."
(Sources: CZ's own account, early Binance employee interviews, Bloomberg)
**Over to you:** If you were that guard, would you let CZ in? Or know any other crypto big shots' epic fail moments? Spill the tea!