Brian Acton (Technology) – Overview, Biography

Name:Brian Acton
Occupation: Technology
Gender:Male
Birth Day: February 17,
1972
Age: 50
Birth Place: Palo Alto, California,
United States
Zodiac Sign:Pisces

Brian Acton

Brian Acton was born on February 17, 1972 in Palo Alto, California, United States (50 years old). Brian Acton is a Technology, zodiac sign: Pisces. Nationality: United States. Approx. Net Worth: $4 Billion. With the net worth of $4 Billion, Brian Acton is the #367 richest person on earth all the time in our database.

Net Worth 2020

$4 Billion
Find out more about Brian Acton net worth here.

Family Members

#NameRelationshipNet WorthSalaryAgeOccupation
#1Tegan Acton Spouse N/A N/A N/A

Physique

HeightWeightHair ColourEye ColourBlood TypeTattoo(s)
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Biography

Biography Timeline

1992

In 1992, he became a systems administrator for Rockwell International, before becoming a product tester at Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems. In 1996, he became the 44th employee hired by Yahoo Inc.

1994

Acton, born in Michigan, grew up in Central Florida, where he graduated from Lake Howell High School. Acton received a full scholarship to study engineering at the University of Pennsylvania but left after a year to study at Stanford. He graduated from Stanford University in 1994 with a degree in computer science.

1998

In 1998, Jan Koum was hired by Yahoo! as an infrastructure engineer shortly after he met Acton while working at Ernst & Young as a security tester. Over the next nine years, they worked at Yahoo!. Acton invested in the dotcom boom and lost millions in the dot-com bubble of 2000. In September 2007 Koum and Acton left Yahoo! and took a year off, traveling around South America and playing ultimate frisbee. Both applied, and failed, to work at Facebook. In January 2009, Koum bought an iPhone and realized that the then seven-month-old App Store was about to spawn a whole new industry of apps. He visited his friend Alex Fishman and talked about developing an app. Koum almost immediately chose the name WhatsApp because it sounded like “what’s up”, and a week later on his birthday, Feb. 24, 2009, he incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California.

2014

In 2014, Koum and Acton agreed to sell WhatsApp to Facebook for approximately US$19 billion in cash and stock. Forbes estimates that Acton held over 20% stake in the company, making his net worth around $3.8 billion. According to Acton’s personal Twitter feed, he was turned down for employment by both Twitter and Facebook in 2009.

Since 2014, Brian Acton and his wife Tegan Acton started to build a philanthropic network through the foundation Wildcard Giving, with three sister foundations: Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving and Solidarity Giving.

The couple started Sunlight Giving in 2014, a family foundation dedicated to supporting the basic services of low-income families with young children ages 0–5. It also provides support for safe spaces and organizations that ensure food security, housing stability, and healthcare access. The foundation supports low-income families with children age five and below living in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a sister organization belonging to the Wildcard Giving family. Sunlight Giving has $470 million in assets. It granted $6.4 million in 2015, $19.2 million in 2016, and $23.6 million in 2017. This private foundation helped to fund Magnify Community, a non-profit organization with the goal of redirect philanthropists’ givings to nonprofits..

Also in 2014, Acton helped establish Acton Family Giving and Solidarity Giving.

2016

In 2016, Acton led a funding round for Trak N Tell and raised $3.5 million along with two other investors.

2017

In September 2017, Acton left WhatsApp. Acton told Forbes that he left over a dispute with Facebook regarding monetization of WhatsApp, and voluntarily left $850 million in unvested options on the table by leaving a few months before vesting was completed. He also noted that he was coached by Facebook executives to mislead European regulators regarding Facebook’s intention to merge Facebook and WhatsApp user data.

Acton left WhatsApp in September 2017 to start a new foundation, the Signal Foundation, which is dedicated to helping people have access to private communication through an encrypted messaging app. Signal is broadly used by journalists and human rights activists.

2018

In February 2018, it was announced that Acton was investing $50 million into Signal. On March 20, 2018, Forbes reported that Acton had publicly tweeted support for the #DeleteFacebook movement, in a “new level of public backlash”. In November 2019, the journalist Steven Levy asked Acton why he decided to make his feelings so public. Acton said he felt that it was time because there was pressure unfolding against Facebook.

2019

In 2019, Brian Acton and his wife were considered between the biggest givers of the year after giving more than $ 1 billion to charitable causes.

Upcoming Birthday

Currently, Brian Acton is 50 years, 7 months and 16 days old. Brian Acton will celebrate 51st birthday on a Friday 17th of February 2023.

Find out about Brian Acton birthday activities in timeline view here.

Brian Acton trends


FAQs

  1. Who is Brian Acton
    ?
  2. How rich is Brian Acton
    ?
  3. What is Brian Acton
    ‘s salary?
  4. When is Brian Acton
    ‘s birthday?
  5. When and how did Brian Acton
    became famous?
  6. How tall is Brian Acton
    ?
  7. Who is Brian Acton
    ‘s girlfriend?
  8. List of Brian Acton
    ‘s family members?
  9. Why do people love Brian Acton?

Aakash Chopra (Cricket Player)...

Name: Aakash ChopraOccupation: Cricket PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: September 19, ...

Sara Maria Forsberg (Musicians)...

Name: Sara Maria ForsbergOccupation: MusiciansGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 2, ...

Tia Wright (Weight Lifter)...

Name: Tia WrightOccupation: Weight LifterGender: FemaleBirth Day: November 4, ...

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Scientists)...

Name: Zhores Ivanovich AlferovReal Name: Zhores AlferovOccupation: ScientistsGender: MaleBirth Day: March 15, ...

Wendy O. Williams (Actor)...

Name: Wendy O. WilliamsOccupation: ActorGender: FemaleHeight: 170 cm (5' 7'')Birth Day: May...

Silas Nacita (Football Player)...

Name: Silas NacitaOccupation: Football PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: November 25, ...

Aakash Chopra (Cricket Player) – Overview, Biography

Name: Aakash ChopraOccupation: Cricket PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: September 19, ...

Sara Maria Forsberg (Musicians) – Overview, Biography

Name: Sara Maria ForsbergOccupation: MusiciansGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 2, ...

Tia Wright (Weight Lifter) – Overview, Biography

Name: Tia WrightOccupation: Weight LifterGender: FemaleBirth Day: November 4, ...

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Scientists) – Net Worth 2020

Name: Zhores Ivanovich AlferovReal Name: Zhores AlferovOccupation: ScientistsGender: MaleBirth Day: March 15, ...

Wendy O. Williams (Actor) – Overview, Biography

Name: Wendy O. WilliamsOccupation: ActorGender: FemaleHeight: 170 cm (5' 7'')Birth Day: May 28, ...

Silas Nacita (Football Player) – Overview, Biography

Name: Silas NacitaOccupation: Football PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: November 25, ...

Susan Cowsill (Pop Singer) – Overview, Biography

Name: Susan CowsillOccupation: Pop SingerGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 20, ...

Scott Hoch (Golfer) – Overview, Biography

Name: Scott HochOccupation: GolferGender: MaleBirth Day: November 24, ...

Winnie Lau (Singers) – Overview, Biography

Name: Winnie LauOccupation: SingersGender: FemaleBirth Day: July 24, ...