Ripple’s Good Year Boosts Larsen’s Fortune to $15 Billion (1)

The embrace of cryptocurrency by the US government and now Wall Street has been good news for Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen.

First, the Securities and Exchange Commission in August ended its five-year lawsuit against the San Francisco-based digital-currency company. And on Wednesday, investors including funds affiliated with Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities plowed $500 million into Ripple at a valuation of $40 billion.

Chris Larsen

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

The new funding round, together with the roughly 9% gain this year for XRP, the token associated with Ripple, has pushed Larsen’s fortune to $15.3 billion. That puts him among the 200 richest people ...