There are 59.4 million millionaires in the world, amounting to 0.8.% of the 7 billion strong population. These people acquired their millions doing a number of things, with one of the most recent entries being cryptocurrency. Let’s see how a select few from the 1% got their millions, and maybe we can steal some tips from their millionaire playbook.
1. Drake Drake Yes, the same one. The Toronto-born rapper is no stranger to the high stakes, which is evident in his deal with “Stake.” While it is no news that he already is a millionaire, he still made a chunk of crypto millions when he wagered $8.3 million to win upwards of $27 million, roughly 83,000 BTC at the time. His impressive wins have led to a growing number of fans and gamblers heading to the crypto casino sites listed here to try his favorite games and see if they can replicate his impressive wins.
Easier said than done?
2. Jeremy Gardner Jeremy Gardner The exact amount Jeremy Gardner invested in Bitcoin isn’t publicly available. We know he started buying Bitcoin early on, but we know his investment was small initially, as he started by buying from friends and then converted his life savings into Bitcoin, likely around 2013, when its price was still relatively low.
Right now, he is a well-known figure in the crypto world, with some sources reporting a net worth upwards of $300 million.
Moral of the story? Have friends who can sell you Bitcoin.
3. Jed McCaleb
Jed McCaleb is in the exclusive crypto millionaire billionaire’s club with a net worth of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes in 2024. He is as popular as they come in the crypto space, known and lauded for his involvement in the following crypto projects:
He founded Mt. Gox in 2010, the first major Bitcoin exchange, before selling it in 2011 after a major hack that led to its collapse. In 2012, McCaleb co-founded Ripple and served as its CTO before leaving in 2023. Ripple focuses on using blockchain technology to make faster and cheaper international payments. Following his departure from Ripple, McCaleb co-founded Stellar in 2014 and still serves as its CTO. Stellar is a payment network similar to Ripple, aiming to facilitate cross-border transactions.
4. Kristoffer Koch Kristoffer Koch The story of Kristoffer Koch is quite funny but, at the same time, rewarding. It is the story of a young Norwegian man who, in his early 20s, although skeptical, decided to take a chance with Bitcoin, having read Satoshi’s white paper on Bitcoin when it came out in 2009. Although having only invested $22, he was able to buy 5000 bitcoins. Only four years later did he stumble on news of Bitcoin’s meteoric rise, with his investment having grown to $886,000. He took out one-fifth of that amount, which he used to buy a house—quite the return on $22.
Interestingly, if he had kept all 5000 coins to date, they would be worth an astonishing $345,291,000 as of March 2024. HODL (not financial advice).
5. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss
The Winklevosses have been in the news for many reasons. First was that they competed in the 2008 Olympics in the Olympic rowing team; the lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their idea for Facebook, which ended with a $65 million settlement in cash and stock , and finally –most importantly, as far as this article is concerned– their early investments in Bitcoin.
Public reports indicate the Winklevoss twins invested around $11 million in Bitcoin sometime between 2012 and 2013 when Bitcoin’s price was much lower than it is today. Some sources even suggest they may have gotten some Bitcoin as cheap as $8 per coin, placing either of them with a net worth in the ballpark of $3 billion.
Tyler And Cameron Winklevoss. Photo credit — CNBC 6. Cooper Turley
While there are no public records of Cooper’s worth, it is widely agreed that he attained millionaire status as early as 35 with smart and early investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum. He has since gone on to become a prominent figure in the crypto space and has tried his hand at being a crypto influencer and NFT collector. He’s now fostering a connection between crypto and music with his $10 million fund called Coop Records, which invests in artists and startups working at this intersection.
Cooper also holds positions like Editor at DeFi Rate and Scout at MetaCartel DAO, which suggests involvement in building and supporting crypto communities.
7. Olaf Carlson
Olaf Carlson-Wee is a prominent figure in the world of cryptocurrency. His journey began early on when he landed his first employee position at the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. This demonstrates his keen interest and involvement in digital currencies from the very beginning.
In 2016, Carlson-Wee took a major step by founding Polychain Capital, a cryptocurrency investment firm. His foresight and investment acumen have proven successful, with Polychain Capital growing tremendously. Reports indicate the firm managed a staggering $4 billion in assets by April 2021.
While his exact net worth remains undisclosed, estimates based on information from 2021 suggest it could be around $300 million. This wealth likely stems from the success of Polychain Capital and his personal investments in cryptocurrency.
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