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Ripple Executives Are Now Billionaires Thanks to XRP Success
As the total value of the digital currency industry surpasses $600 billion, dozens of new millionaires (and even billionaires) have emerged. Two of the new billionaires who have enjoyed huge gains from XRP’s success are current and former Ripple CEOs Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse.
Larsen is the co-founder and former CEO of the company. He stepped down from that position at the end of 2016 and now serves as executive chairman, according to Forbes. Larsen’s personal holding is 5.19 billion XRP, giving him a 17% stake in Ripple. According to the exchange rate for XRP as of January 1, 2018, that means his net holdings are worth $37.3 billion, launching him into the 15th spot on the list of richest Americans.
Ripple’s current CEO is Brad Garlinghouse, who holds a 6.3% stake in the company, as well as other XRP tokens. His net worth, based on current rates, would be nearly $10 billion, placing him in the mid-50s on Forbes’ list of richest Americans.
Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse may have benefited the most from their Ripple holdings, but they aren’t the only ones who have profited significantly from XRP’s meteoric gains.
Jed McCaleb, another co-founder of Ripple, left the company in 2013 but holds 5.3 billion XRP as of February 2016. Due to an agreement that limits his daily trading volume, he is unable to access all of these holdings; otherwise, he too would be a billionaire.
Ripple increased by 30,000% year over year
Ripple is headquartered in San Francisco and uses blockchain technology to facilitate international financial transactions. Ripple It has gained approximately 30,000% from the beginning of 2017 to the beginning of 2018. In the process, it has surpassed Ethereum’s ether token as the second largest digital currency by market capitalization.
Early investors in all types of digital currencies are watching their net worth skyrocket as bitcoin, ether, and Ripple, among other digital currencies, post massive gains and set new price records. (See also: Winklevoss Twins Are Bitcoin’s First Billionaires)
While many of the newly created digital currency’s millionaires owe their fortunes to investments in bitcoin, the world’s largest digital currency by market cap isn’t the only one that has made some individuals very wealthy. In particular, the significant gains that Ripple (XRP) has seen in recent months may have significantly added to the wealth of some developers and shareholders. (See more: Ripple is emerging as a stable and reliable cryptocurrency)
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