Reid Garrett Hoffman was born on 5 August 1967, in Palo Alto, California USA, and is an entrepreneur, author and venture capitalist responsible for the creation of the social media website LinkedIn, the creation of which and his numerous investments have made him one of the richest entrepreneurs today with a very high net worth.
How rich is Reid Hoffman? Sources inform that his net worth is at $4.7 billion as of early 2016, making him one of the richest people on the planet. Most of his wealth can be traced back to the success of LinkedIn and even his work with Paypal. Numerous successful investments and a few books have also helped get him where he is now.
Reid Hoffman Net Worth $4.7 Million
During his high school days at The Putney School, Reid spent time studying epistemology and farming maple syrup. He then attended Stanford University to study Symbiotic Systems and Cognitive Science, earning both a Dinkelspiel Award and Marshall Scholarship. He had developed a conviction to make a big impact in the world, and believed that academia was the way to do that. He finished his master’s degree in Philosophy in 1993, graduating from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. Along the way, he realized that people in academia didn’t have much of an impact compared to people in the business world. He then resolved to become a successful entrepreneur, and eventually use that platform to inspire and help others.
In 1994, he joined Apple computers to work on eWorld, one of the first social media websites developed, subsequently acquired by AOL in 1996, and Reid found himself moving to Fujitsu. He then later co-founded his first company called SocialNet.com, an idea that was way ahead of its time, considered one of the first dating sites, matching people with similar interests. Reid had also joined as one of the board of directors of PayPal, working to find a way to implement and improve the electronic money transmission service. Around 2000, he left SocialNet to work full-time on PayPal, and he become the company’s COO for two years until eBay decided to buy PayPal for $1.5 billion. Reid’s net worth benefited accordingly.
During 2002, Hoffman and a few friends from SocialNet and Fujitsu decided to create their own website called LinkedIn. It launched in 2003 as the first business focused social media website and over time became a wide success. The website gained hundreds of millions of members from all around the world and is also responsible for raising Reid’s net worth into the billions.
At the same time, Hoffman started to make investments, and became one of the world’s most successful investors, a few of his interests include Airbnb, Coupons.com, Flickr, Wikia, and Kongregate.
With his success, Reid finally got the platform he needed to become someone who can inspire and motivate. He started posting blogs on LinkedIn, and also wrote two books that focused on business and personal development. He became a speaker for TED, and also lectures at universities like Stanford, Oxford and Harvard. He has earned multiple awards for his work and endeavors.
Little is known about Hoffman’s life outside of his success in the business world. He’s married to Michelle Yee and resides in Palo Alto, California. He also serves multiple organizations in contributing regularly to various charitable institutions. A few relatively peropheral political causes also spark his interest as he contributes to them from time to time.
