Wilmot Reed Hastings, Jr. (born October 8, 1960) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and CEO of Netflix and serves on the boards of Facebook and a number of non-profit organizations. A former member of the California State Board of Education, Hastings is an advocate for education reform through charter schools.
Early life and education
Hastings was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Joan Amory (Loomis) and Wilmot Reed Hastings. His maternal great-grandfather was attorney, financier, scientist, inventor and philanthropist Alfred Lee Loomis. He entered Marine Corps officer training through their Platoon Leader Class and spent the summer of 1981 in Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia.
After graduating from Bowdoin College, Hastings joined the Peace Corps “out of a combination of service and adventure” and went to teach high school math in Swaziland from 1983 to 1985. Hastings credits part of his entrepreneurial spirit to his time in the Peace Corps. “Once you have hitchhiked across Africa with ten bucks in your pocket, starting a business doesn’t seem too intimidating.”
After returning from the Peace Corps, Hastings went on to attend Stanford University. He graduated in 1988 with a master’s degree in computer science.
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Hastings at Web 2.0 Conference, 2005
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| Born | Wilmot Reed Hastings, Jr. October 8, 1960 (age 56) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Residence | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Bowdoin College Stanford University |
| Occupation | Co-founder and CEO of Netflix |
| Net worth |  |
| Board member of | Facebook, KIPP, DreamBox (company) |
| Spouse(s) | Patricia Ann Quillin |
| Children | 2 |
Hastings is a co-founder and chief executive officer of Netflix, an internet subscription service for movies and television shows. The Los Gatos, California-based business distributes licensed content, as well its own programs like “13 Reasons Why” and “Orange Is the New Black.” It reported revenue of $11.7 billion in 2017.
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