TechFlow reports that on February 10, CZ, founder of Binance, stated during an interview on the All-In podcast that at age 14 he worked at McDonald’s, where the minimum wage in British Columbia, Canada, was CAD $6 per hour—but McDonald’s paid him only CAD $5.50 per hour under a special exemption.
He began learning programming in high school. When choosing a university, he wavered between the University of Waterloo and McGill University, ultimately enrolling at McGill to study biology—before switching to computer science after one semester. CZ avoided student loans by working part-time during summers and academic terms; he received modest financial support from his father and sister early on, but soon became fully self-supporting. In his twenties, he shifted his focus to business development.
