chainwire 
Well, it’s been quite a start to the year for Michael Saylor. The MicroStrategy co-founder has apparently seen his personal net worth jump by a billion dollars since January. That’s not a bad few months, is it? He just made his first appearance on the Bloomberg Billionaire 500 Index, landing at number 491.
His estimated fortune sits at around $7.37 billion now. A good chunk of that, about $650 million, is reportedly in cash. The rest, a whopping $6.72 billion, is tied up in his company’s stock. And that stock, MSTR, has seen a decent climb itself, up nearly 12% this year. It closed Friday at $335.87.
A Familiar Crowd
He’s in some pretty recognizable company now. Saylor joins other figures from the crypto world on that Bloomberg list. There’s Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, way up there at 234th with $12.8 billion. And then there’s Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, or “CZ,” holding the 40th spot with a fortune of $44.5 billion. It’s a club that, of course, once included Sam Bankman-Fried, before everything at FTX fell apart.
The Bitcoin Connection
This isn’t exactly a surprise, given what his company does. MicroStrategy is basically synonymous with buying Bitcoin. The firm has gone all-in, accumulating a staggering 659,739 BTC. At current prices, that’s a treasury worth nearly $73 billion. They own over 3% of all the Bitcoin in circulation. It’s a massive bet, one that has largely defined the company’s recent identity.
But here’s an interesting point. Despite buying billions of dollars worth, the company insists its purchases don’t really affect the market price. Their corporate treasurer, Shirish Jajodia, recently stated that “The way we buy Bitcoin is we do not move the price.” They seem to have a method that avoids causing big waves, which is perhaps harder than it sounds.
Not All Smooth Sailing
Even with the gains this year, it hasn’t been a straight shot up. Look back over the last month, and the stock is actually down more than 12%. Friday saw a nice bump of 2.53%, but the overall trend lately has been a bit softer.
There was also some disappointment recently. A lot of people thought MicroStrategy might get added to the S&P 500 index in August. It was left out, though. Reports suggest that even though the company technically meets all the requirements, the committee making the decision might be taking a broader, more “holistic” view. They might be looking at more than just the numbers on paper. So for now, that’s a goal that remains just out of reach.