Sean Parker (born December 3, 1979) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who cofounded the file-sharing computer service Napster and served as the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also cofounded Plaxo, Causes, Airtime, and Brigade, an online platform for civic engagement. He is the founder and chairman of the Parker Foundation, which focuses on life sciences, global public health, and civic engagement. On the Forbes 2016 list of the world’s billionaires, he was ranked #722 with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.
Early life
Parker was born in Herndon, Virginia, to Diane Parker, a TV advertising broker, and Bruce Parker, a U.S. government oceanographer. When Parker was seven, his father taught him how to program on an Atari 800. Parker’s father, who put his family over his entrepreneurial dreams, told Parker “if you are going to take risks, take them early before you have a family.” As a teenager, Parker’s hobbies were hacking and programming. One night, while hacking into the network of a Fortune 500 company, Parker was unable to log out after his father unplugged and confiscated his computer keyboard. Because his IP address was exposed, F.B.I. agents tracked down the 16-year-old. Since Parker was under 18, he was sentenced to community service.
Sean Parker | |
---|---|
Born | December 3, 1979 Herndon, Virginia, U.S. |
Education | Oakton High School Chantilly High School |
Occupation | Entrepreneur, investor |
Known for | Managing Partner at The Founders Fund Co-founder of Plaxo, Napster, Airtime, and Causes President of Facebook Chairman of the Parker Foundation |
Net worth | US$2.4 billion (Forbes 2016) |
Board member of | Spotify Yammer |
Spouse(s) | Alexandra Lenas (m. 2013) |
Children | 2 |
American Internet technology businessman and entrepreneur, Sean Parker, has an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion as of June 2016 according to Forbes. He co-founded Plaxo and Causes, and was a part of Facebook. He was also a co-founder of Napster. At 19, Sean Parker basically blew-up the music industry with the music site Napster. At 21, he helped pioneer viral propagation with Plaxo. At 24, his vision and experience helped turn Facebook into the most important Internet company since, well, maybe ever. He is currently an investor and director of Swedish music site, Spotify.
Source: