The $15,000 Investment That Made Him a Billionaire

Eduardo Saverin’s road to riches traces back to a modest $15,000 investment he made into an early online social networking idea pitched by his Harvard classmate Mark Zuckerberg. That seemingly small stake ended up being the seeds for one of the most valuable technology companies ever created.

In late 2003, Saverin provided Zuckerberg with $15,000 in seed funding to cover the initial costs of building and hosting the website that would become Facebook. Zuckerberg used that capital to pay for the platform’s first computer servers and get TheFacebook.com up and running.

When Facebook officially launched in February 2004, Saverin was listed as a co-founder alongside Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. As Facebook’s first outside investor and one of the founders, Saverin’s $15,000 bought him a 34% ownership stake in the fledgling company.

While Zuckerberg soon moved the operations to California to focus full-time on growing Facebook, Saverin opted to stay in New York that summer to complete a business internship. That physical separation, along with growing tensions over issues like Saverin launching a separate startup, led to a souring of his relationship with Zuckerberg.

The Protracted Legal Battle Over His Facebook Equity

In 2005, in what Saverin alleges was an underhanded dilution of his shares without his knowledge, Facebook issued millions of new equity shares to the other co-founders. This had the effect of reducing Saverin’s ownership stake from over 30% down to less than 10%.

Saverin sued Facebook, igniting a years-long legal battle over his equity stake. The dispute was eventually settled out of court, with Saverin walking away with 5% of Facebook – a stake that would make him a multi-billionaire when the company went public.

While the terms were undisclosed, reports suggest Saverin’s revised stake after the settlement was somewhere around 4-5% of Facebook. With the company’s wildly successful IPO in 2012, his share at the $38 per share offering price was worth around $4.6 billion. Not bad for an initial $15,000 grubstake!

Post-Facebook: Venture Capital, Investments and Renouncing U.S. Citizenship

In the years after his legal victory, Saverin has continued compounding his net worth through a range of business ventures and investments. He has largely kept a very low profile, choosing to live abroad as a tax resident of Singapore.

In 2015, Saverin founded B Capital venture capital firm with his business partner Raj Ganguly. B Capital closed its initial round of over $140 million in investments, backing startups like Singapore logistics firm Ninja Van.

Saverin has made additional private investments in other promising tech companies like price comparison app ShopSavvy, multimedia site Qwiki, and mobile payment system Netswipe.

In 2011, Saverin sparked controversy when he renounced his U.S. citizenship prior to Facebook’s IPO, a move that allowed him to avoid an estimated $700 million tax bill on his windfall. Living in Singapore since 2009, he has denied allegations that his primary motivation was dodging taxes, insisting it was to live and work in the prosperous city-state.

$167 Million Singapore Mansion and Other Luxury Spending

With a net worth of $10 billion, thanks largely to his Facebook ownership over the years, Saverin has been able to indulge in some ultra-luxury real estate purchases and lavish living.

In 2019, he reportedly spent an eye-watering $167 million on a sprawling two-acre home in one of Singapore’s most expensive neighborhoods. The property features a tennis court, swimming pool, two-story mansion, and lush landscaped gardens.

On top of his mega-mansion, Saverin also owns an ultra-luxury penthouse apartment in Singapore’s tallest residential tower. While he tends to keep a relatively discreet billionaire lifestyle, Saverin has occasionally splurged on high-end items like rare investment-grade wines.

He was famously portrayed by actor Andrew Garfield in the 2010 Facebook biopic The Social Network. The film depicted some of the acrimonious history between Saverin and Zuckerberg over the social network’s founding.

From a Humble $15,000 Stake to $10 Billion

While his ongoing role and involvement with Facebook was greatly diminished due to the lengthy legal battle, Eduardo Saverin still reaped a king’s ransom from his early investment in the company as a co-founder.

What started as $15,000 in seed money grew into a stake that was worth well over $4 billion after Facebook went public in 2012. Further investments in startups, real estate and businesses through his venture capital firm have continued expanding Saverin’s net worth to over $10 billion today.

At just 42 years old, Saverin has managed to join the ranks of the world’s youngest billionaires. His extraordinary windfall all stems from a relatively modest investment that helped launch a once-in-a-generation technology platform in Facebook. Not a bad return for helping get one of the internet’s most transformative companies off the ground floor. I sincerely hope you like reading this “Eduardo Saverin Net Worth In 2024? Prepare to Be Amazed” article.

The post Eduardo Saverin Net Worth In 2024? Prepare to Be Amazed appeared first on CeleBrity Plus.