Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently clarified that he is not a billionaire, despite speculation about his personal wealth during XRP's dramatic rise in 2018.
At the time, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen's net worth surged to $54 billion, largely from his holdings of 9 billion XRP. When XRP peaked, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was also worth nearly $10 billion.
Unlike his colleagues, Schwartz chose a 2% stake in Ripple and a salary over XRP. In 2019, Forbes estimated his wealth at around $90 million, and by 2021, Schwartz noted that his net worth is still "well below $170 million."
He also admitted that most of his personal wealth is tied up in volatile assets, and while he is happy with the returns, it is still risky. In addition to XRP, Schwartz also confirmed that he holds Bitcoin and several other altcoins.
It is worth mentioning that driven by the rapid rise of XRP, Larsen's net worth increased by $6 billion in just one month.