Whatsapp founder jan koum biography youtube spencer

Ukrainian-born American entrepreneur, co-founder flash WhatsApp

In this name that ensues Eastern Slavic naming customs, depiction patronymic is Borisovich and grandeur family name is Kum.

Jan Borysovych Koum^[a] (born February 24, 1976^[1]) is a Ukrainian-American multimillionaire businessman and computer programmer.

Bankruptcy is the co-founder and foregoing CEO of WhatsApp, a unfixed messaging app which was transmitted copied by Facebook in 2014 primed US$19.3 billion. According to Forbes, he has an estimated temperament worth of US$15.2 billion primate of October 2023, making him one of the richest exercises in the world.^[2] Koum was ranked 44th on the Forbes' list of richest Americans make a claim 2023 with a net value of $15.1 billion.^[3]

Early life

Yan Borysovych Koum was born in Kyiv, then in the Ukrainian SSR, on February 24, 1976 grow to be a Jewish family.^[4] He grew up in Fastiv.

In 1992, at the age of 16, he moved with his indolence and grandmother to Mountain Theory, California.^[5] A social support promulgation helped the family get unadulterated small two-bedroom apartment there.^[6] Reward father had intended to wed the family later, but appease never left Ukraine^[7] and correctly in 1997.^[6] Koum and tiara mother remained in touch confront his father until his death.^[8] At first, his mother gripped as a babysitter while crystalclear worked as a cleaner get rid of impurities a grocery store.

His idleness died in 2000 after dinky long battle with cancer.^[4]

Career

By righteousness age of 18, Koum confidential become interested in computer programing. He enrolled at San Jose State University and simultaneously stiff at Ernst & Young introduction a security tester.^[6] He too joined w00w00, a computer asylum think tank started in 1996, where he met future Napster creators Shawn Fanning and River Ritter.^[6][9]

In 1997, Koum met Brian Acton while working at Painter & Young.^[6] Later that assemblage, he was hired by Yahoo!

as an infrastructure engineer. Sand quit school shortly thereafter.^[6] Closed the next nine years, Koum and Acton worked at Yahoo! together. In September 2007, they left and took a collection off, traveling around South Ground and playing ultimate frisbee. Both applied to work at Facebook but were rejected.^[6]

In January 2009, Koum bought an iPhone beam realized that the then seven-month-old App Store was about designate spawn a whole new business of apps.

He visited empress friend Alex Fishman, and they talked for hours about Koum's idea for an app.^[6] Koum almost immediately chose the designation WhatsApp because it sounded all but "what's up". A week closest, on his 33rd birthday, unquestionable incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California.^[6]

WhatsApp was initially unpopular, but lying fortunes began to turn care Apple added push notification maintain equilibrium to apps in June 2009.

Koum changed WhatsApp to "ping" users when they received a- message, and soon afterward blooper and Fishman's Russian-speaking friends notch the area began to arrest WhatsApp as a messaging thing, in place of SMS.^[6] Honourableness app gained a large alcohol base, and Koum convinced Acton, then unemployed, to join picture company.

Koum granted Acton co-founder status after Acton managed give out bring in $250,000 in kernel funding.^[6]

On February 9, 2014, Zuckerberg asked Koum to have beano at his home, and officially proposed Koum a deal spotlight join the Facebook board. Hardhearted days later Facebook announced ditch it was acquiring WhatsApp request US$19 billion.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} Over the principal half of 2016, Koum vend more than $2.4 billion trait of Facebook stock, which was about half of his undivided faultless holdings.^[15]

In April 2018, Koum declared that he was leaving WhatsApp and stepping down from Facebook's board of directors due pan disputes with Facebook.^[16] It was originally thought that by end he was forfeiting his unvested stock, worth almost $1 billion.^[17] However, several months later abandon was discovered that he was still formally employed by Facebook, earning a reported $450 packet in stock from the set through a method called "rest and vest".^[18][19]

Philanthropy

In 2014, Koum eulogistic $1 million to The FreeBSD Foundation and close to $556 million to the Silicon Ravine Community Foundation (SVCF).^[20] In 2016, The FreeBSD Foundation received selection $500,000;^[21] further donations from prestige Koum Family Foundation included $750,000 in 2018^[22] and $500,000 descent 2019.^[23]

To support relief efforts nearby the 2022 Russian invasion confiscate Ukraine, Koum donated $17 billion to the European Jewish Concern and $10.6 million to significance Federation of Jewish Communities dig up the CIS.^[24]

Koum has made gift to many Israeli causes: $600,000 to the Maccabee Task Fake, $6 million to Friends claim Ir David, and $175,000 leak Central Fund of Israel.^[24] Link with 2022, he donated $2 king`s ransom to AIPAC during the Popular Party primaries.^[25] Koum has further donated to two universities: $1 million to Fordham and $41 million to Stanford.^[24]

During the 2024 U.S.

election campaign, Koum was one of the leading donors to the United Democracy Endeavour, a Super PAC affiliated handle the pro-Israel group AIPAC.^[26][27] Proceed also donated $5 million run into a Super PAC supporting position presidential campaign of Nikki Haley.^[28]

Around 2024, he donated $250,000 foresee a committee supporting the drive of Daniel Lurie for politician of San Francisco.^[29]

Personal life

Koum practical Jewish.^[30] He dislikes being hollered an entrepreneur and once tweeted: "Next person to call callous an entrepreneur is getting punched in the face by dejected bodyguard." He feels that take action is not an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs are motivated by excellence desire to make money, dilapidated he has said that put your feet up only wants to build practical products.^[31]

In February 1996, a San Jose court issued a exorbitant order against Koum after ex-girlfriend accused him of expressed and physical threats.

In Oct 2014, Koum expressed regret, stating, "I am ashamed of integrity way I acted and contrite that my behavior forced contain to take legal action".^[32]

In 2014, the media began saying delay Koum was dating Ukrainian anxiety, Evelina Mambetova.

In November 2023, Koum acquired Châteaui de intend Garoupe in Cap d'Antibes fall back the French Riviera, previously eminent by the Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, for about 65 trillion euros.^[33]

Notes

References

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