Tron's Justin Sun disputes Forbes wealth estimate as bride-price fight goes public

Tron founder Justin Sun used X on September 1 to challenge how Bloomberg and Forbes value his crypto fortune.

His response comes just days after his split from Chinese actress Jing Tian became a public fight over a bride price and a $50 million demand.

How much is Justin Sun really worth?

In a series of posts published on X today, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, argued that his personal balance sheet is nobody’s business but also nothing to hide. How much he holds “has never been” the industry’s concern, he wrote, and he added that he would not use the figure to answer his critics.

Sun then took aim at Bloomberg and Forbes, stating that they count his crypto holdings at only 20% to 30% of their value when tallying his net worth, because those assets are concentrated, volatile, and by the outlets’ standards, not “certain.”

Sun said he understands that logic, but it is the outlet’s methodology, and not his problem.

He wrote in a separate post that for 14 years, he has made the deliberate choice of keeping the bulk of his own assets in crypto. Forbes currently pegs the 36-year-old at $8.5 billion.

Why is Justin Sun suing Jing Tian?

Prior to the wealth posts, Sun published a lengthy account titled “My Girlfriend Jing Tian” on August 27. The post reportedly took him more than ten hours to write and was labeled “fictional.”

In it, Sun said the couple had moved toward marriage. He said he transferred a 30 million yuan bride price, about $4.5 million, to Jing’s parents after proposing in January, and that the two had agreed to have a child through surrogacy. Sun alleged that shortly before Jing was due to undergo an egg retrieval, she demanded a further $50 million.

At that stage, he turned to Anthropic’s Claude chatbot for advice and, acting on its recommendation, refused the money and ended the relationship. Sun is reportedly now suing the actress and her parents to recover the bride price.

Which other drama is Justin Sun involved in?

38-year-old Jing Tian, who is known for her roles in “From Vegas to Macau” and “Police Story 2013” and is followed by more than 26 million people on Weibo, rejected Sun’s account via the social media platform on August 28, insisting that she has not and will never sell her love.

Jing added that she still believed in the law and would let time settle the matter.

The episode blew up on Chinese social media and took over search results. Hashtags regarding the incident even trended on Weibo.

Some users have mocked the fact that a chatbot played a role in ending a romance, while others have been criticizing Sun for airing medical, financial and personal details.

In an interview with Sing Tao Headline, Sun also shared his doubt about the AI’s judgment, and like Jing, said he would leave the resolution to his lawyers and the courts.

Meanwhile, Cryptopolitan has reported that World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s DeFi project, filed a defamation countersuit against Sun in May, alleging that he was involved in a coordinated smear campaign and short-selling after he sued the company for freezing his tokens.

Sun has called the WLFI suit a “meritless PR stunt,” but he also remains locked in a years-long fight with Hong Kong custodian First Digital Trust over TrueUSD reserves.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.