Chamath Palihapitiya Net Worth

How much is Chamath Palihapitiya’s net worth?

net worth: $1 billion
age: 47
Birth: September 3, 1976
gender: Male
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
country of origin: Sri Lanka
Sources of funds: entrepreneur
Last Updated: January 19, 2024

Introduction

Chamath Palihapitiya’s net worth is approximately $1 billion.

Chamath Palihapitiya is a venture capitalist, engineer, and CEO of Social Capital.

He was a senior executive at Facebook, where he joined in 2007 and left in 2011.

Palihapitiya is a minority shareholder and board member of the Golden State Warriors.

early life

Chamath Palihapitiya was born on 3 September 1976 in Sri Lanka.

Palihapitiya moved to Canada with his family when he was 6 years old.

His father was unemployed and his mother was a housewife.

He was educated at Lisgar Collegiate Institute, from which he graduated at the age of 17.

He graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1999. He later moved to California to live with his then-girlfriend.

Livelihood

Chamath Palihapitiya came from a Sri Lankan family that was not well off and as a teenager he worked at Burger King to help support his family.

He studied at Lisgar Collegiate Institute and then received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1999.

Palihapitiya then worked for a year as a derivatives trader at BMO Nesbitt Burns, an investment bank, before moving to California to work at Winamp.

Like some top NBA players who became entrepreneurs, Palihapitiya may not have started with much, but he quickly rose through the ranks.

Finding your location

Chamath Palihapitiya joined Winamp, and after its acquisition by AOL, he became the company’s youngest vice president, overseeing the instant messaging division.

However, in 2005 he left AOL and joined Mayfield Fund, an American venture capital firm focused on early-stage and growth stage investments.

After a year of establishing himself there, he joined Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, the company being only three years old at the time.

Unfortunately, his first year at Facebook wasn’t smooth at all, as Palihapitiya led the release of Facebook Beacon.

Now, if you don’t remember Facebook Beacon, you’re not alone, as it failed shortly after its launch and even faced a few lawsuits.

Following this, Palihapitiya began focusing on growing the platform, and in four years, the site garnered over a billion users.

Setting up your own business

After leading the creation of Facebook Home and Facebook Phone, Chamath Palihapitiya left the platform in 2011 and started his own fund.

The firm, called Social+Capital Partnership (now Social Capital), focuses on technology startups, seed funding, venture capital, and private equity.

Through this company, Palihapitiya invested in several companies, including Yammer, Slack, Box, and Gluco.

In 2018, Social Capital’s operations saw a significant downsizing, and several co-founders and management staff left the company.

It was reported that Palihapitiya was spending a lot of time in Europe, particularly in the world’s most expensive countries, and rarely responded to any emails.

Shortly after, the firm returned investors’ capital and converted into a family office, continuing to manage some external capital without fee.

Transition and acquisition

When Social Capital became a family office, Chamath Palihapitiya began investing in climate science, biotechnology and life sciences.

He also began to focus on the decentralization of the digital economy by emphasizing on digital assets, crypto, and blockchain.

In 2019, he helped take Richard Branson’s company Virgin Galactic public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Palihapitiya later sold his stake in Virgin Galactic for approximately $213 million and stepped down as chairman.

Soon after, he took Opendoor, an online real estate marketplace, public via a SPAC, and plans to help take SoFi and Clover Health public in 2021.

During the GameStop short squeeze, Palihapitiya attacked trading app Robinhood for its methods that led to the losses.

Recently, in September 2023, Palihapitiya held a minimum $50,000-a-plate fundraiser at his home for former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Chamath Palihapitiya Net Worth

Chamath Palihapitiya’s net worth is $1 billion.

Highlights

Here are the best highlights of Chamath Palihapitiya’s career:

  • CEO of Social Capital
  • Golden State Warriors board members and stakeholders

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Chamath Palihapitiya worth?

Chamath Palihapitiya’s net worth is estimated at $1 billion.

How old is Chamath Palihapitiya?

Chamath Palihapitiya was born on 3 September, 1976 and currently, he is 47 years old.

How tall is Chamath Palihapitiya?

Chamath Palihapitiya’s height is 1.85 m, which is equivalent to 6 feet 1 inch.

Summary

Chamath Palihapitiya is the CEO and Founder of Social Capital.

He was born in Sri Lanka and later moved to Canada with his family.

He has invested in several online ventures and small companies throughout his career.

Chamath Palihapitiya’s net worth is approximately $1 billion.

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