Entrepreneurs

Eric Schmidt Net Worth

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2024

Net Worth:	$23 Billion
Age:	71
Born:	April 27, 1955
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Entrepreneur
Last Updated:	Aug 15, 2026

Table of Contents

Introduction

Eric Schmidt is an American businessman and software engineer with an estimated net worth of $23 Billion.

Schmidt built the majority of his wealth from his work at Alphabet/Google, serving as the company’s CEO for ten years, an executive chairman for seven years, and technical advisor for his final two years. While he earned almost $60 million from salary and bonuses during his time with Alphabet, it was his stocks and shares that made him worth billions. He’s currently the chair of the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Advisory Board.

Net Worth History

Year	Net Worth
2016	$10.2 Billion
2017	$11.1 Billion
2018	$13.4 Billion
2019	$12.9 Billion
2020	$13.2 Billion
2021	$18.9 Billion
2022	$22.1 Billion
2023	$16.2 Billion
2024	$20.6 Billion
2025	$24 Billion

Back in 2016, Eric Schmidt was worth an estimated $10.2 billion, primarily due to his stake in Alphabet. While he was earning at least $7 million annually at the time, this amount had a minimal impact on his overall net worth. Between 2017 and 2020, Schmidt’s wealth typically ranged between $11 billion and $13.5 billion.

Alphabet’s market cap has increased significantly in the past few years, reaching $2.1 trillion in 2025, with Schmidt still owning approximately 0.5% of the company. As a result, his net worth has grown accordingly, crossing the $20 billion milestone in 2022, and currently sits at $23 Billion in 2025.

Career Overview

Few businessmen have had a career comparable to Eric Schmidt, influencing some of the most successful corporations of the last few decades. After establishing his impressive skills as a software engineer in the 1980s, he went on to help found and develop several cutting-edge companies. His journey began in the early 1980s when he joined the IT company Byzromotti Design team, where he held various technical positions.

Sun Microsystems & Novell

Following a series of roles at Byzromotti Design, Bell Labs, and the Palo Alto Research Center, Eric Schmidt eventually moved to Sun Microsystems. After joining the company as a software manager, he advanced through the company’s ranks to become its Director of Software Engineering.

By the time he left Sun Microsystems, Schmidt had risen to the position of vice president of the software products division. This experience enabled him to transition to the Novell company as its CEO, facing a string of challenges as the company entered a period of decline. While Novell’s fortunes were on the wane, Eric Schmidt’s fortunes were to take a significant turn after he founded a new startup, Google.

Google Earnings

Year	Base Salary	Bonuses / Perks	Total
2001	$250,000	N/A	$250,000
2002	$250,000	N/A	$250,000
2003	$250,000	N/A	$250,000
2004	$1	N/A	$1
2005	$1	$250,000	$250,001
2006	$1	$557,465	$557,466
2007	$1	N/A	$1
2008	$1	$508,763	$508,764
2009	$1	$243,661	$243,662
2010	$1	$250,000	$250,001
2011	$1,250,000	$7,000,000	$8,250,000
2012	$1,250,000	$7,000,000	$8,250,000
2013	$1,250,000	$6,000,000	$7,250,000
2014	$1,250,000	$6,000,000	$7,250,000
2015	$1,250,000	$6,000,000	$7,250,000
2016	$1,250,000	$6,000,000	$7,250,000
2017	$1,250,000	$6,000,000	$7,250,000
2018	$2,000,000	N/A	$2,000,000
2019	$2,000,000	N/A	$2,000,000
Totals:	$13,500,000	$45,809,889	$59,309,889

Working closely with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt’s involvement with the Google startup led him to take over as the company’s CEO in 2001. Shortly after, he began guiding its development over the following years and transforming it into a global leader. At the time, Schmidt was reportedly being paid a base salary of $250,000 per year, with additional annual performance bonuses. He also received an equity percentage in the company in 2001.

After revolutionizing early search engines, the company has since led the way with artificial intelligence and other emerging digital technologies. These developments enabled Schmidt to earn an increasingly large salary and receive share options that would ultimately make him a billionaire. What’s interesting about Eric’s salary during this time was that in 2004, he dropped his annual salary to just $1. However, he still received annual bonuses, which were typically worth more than his old salary, but not always. He also received 14.3 million shares of Alphabet stock upon the launch of its IPO. Between 2004 and 2010, he stuck to this pay structure, with some of his annual bonuses including:

2006 – $557,465
2008 – $508,763
2009 – $243,661

In 2011, Schmidt stepped down from the CEO role and became an executive chairman, continuing to advise Google’s co-founders. His annual base salary increased to roughly $1.25 million, but the most significant difference came from his yearly bonuses and shares in Alphabet. Schmidt received an annual bonus of $6 million, increasing his yearly income to $7.25 million. He also received $100 million worth of Alphabet stock, some of which he has since sold.

For his final two years with the company as a technical advisor, Schmidt reportedly earned $2 million per year in salary, which brings his total earnings, excluding stock options, to $59.3 million.

Alphabet Share Sales

Eric Schmidt has sold a large number of Alphabet shares on two separate occasions. The first occurred in 2013, when he sold 3.2 million shares for $2.5 billion. The second was in 2019, when he sold 1.8 million shares for approximately $1.4 billion, for a combined $3.9 billion in cashouts.

According to reports, he still owns approximately 0.5% of Alphabet’s total shares, worth roughly $10.75 billion.

The Department Of Defense

With his status as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world secured through his long-standing relationship with the Google brand, Eric Schmidt explored new opportunities. His work with the Department of Defense, as chair of an advisory board, was instrumental in forging relationships between the military and the tech sector.

His relationship with military contractors was prominent in his career between 2019 and 2021, when he chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Elon Musk’s work with the DOD and partnership with the US Space Force later echoed these collaborations with the military-industrial complex.

Recruiting Scandal

Schmidt’s recruiting scandal involved secret “no-poach” agreements between tech giants, including Google, Apple, Intel, and Adobe, from the mid-2000s to 2009. These deals, spearheaded by top executives like Schmidt, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Intel’s Paul Otellini, quietly ensured that companies wouldn’t recruit each other’s employees. While this kept internal teams intact, it also held back salaries, blocked career opportunities, and undermined fair competition.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) uncovered the agreements during an antitrust investigation, digging up emails that painted a clear picture of collusion. One 2007 email showed Steve Jobs asking Schmidt to stop a Google recruiter from approaching an Apple employee. Schmidt acted swiftly, instructing his HR team to shut it down, leaving little doubt that these deals were actively enforced.

However, the consequences were more significant than anyone thought, as more than 64,000 workers filed a class-action lawsuit claiming suppressed wages and stifled career growth. The scandal resulted in a $415 million settlement in 2014. Despite their roles in orchestrating the agreements, Schmidt and other top executives faced no personal legal consequences or financial penalties.

The scandal prompted influential tech firms to reassess their hiring practices and sparked broader discussions about workplace fairness. Even after the settlement, the no-poach agreements left a lasting stain on the reputations of those involved, with Schmidt’s role during this period continuing to draw criticism.

Notable Business Ventures

In addition to establishing and developing Google’s services and brand, Eric Schmidt has been involved in many other notable ventures. He briefly served on the board of directors for Apple from 2006 to 2009 and also served as chair of the board of directors at the Broad Institute.

Schmidt has also assisted with research and development at notable educational institutions, including Princeton, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon Universities. Like fellow billionaire Bill Gates, he has invested time and money in the biotech industry, serving on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology. Schmidt’s additional investments include joining an investment group to purchase the NFL team, the Washington Commanders, in 2023.

Entrepreneurs

Changpeng Zhao Net Worth

Find out how Changpeng Zhao’s net worth has changed in recent years, from early successes to the major fluctuations over time.

Published

3 months ago

May 10, 2026

Andy Dilks

Net Worth:	$110 Billion
Age:	48
Born:	September 10, 1977
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Country of Origin:	China
Source of Wealth:	Entrepreneur
Last Updated:	Aug 14, 2026

Introduction

Changpeng Zhao is a Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and business executive with an estimated net worth of $110 Billion.

Zhao earned his billions as the founder, former CEO, and controlling shareholder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. He launched the company in July 2017, raising $15 million through an initial coin offering. Today, Binance generates an estimated $16 billion in annual revenues and is valued at approximately $100 billion.

In this profile, we’ll discuss Changpeng Zhao’s net worth history, Binance fortune, additional business ventures, and some of the legal issues he’s faced.

Quick Facts

Debuted on the Forbes Billionaires Index in 2018
Launched the Binance cryptocurrency exchange a year prior
Holds an estimated 90% stake in the company
Net worth crossed the $100 million milestone in 2026
Sentenced to four months in federal prison for violating the Bank Secrecy Act

Net Worth History

Year	Net Worth
2018	$1.4 Billion
2019	$1.2 Billion
2020	$1.5 Billion
2021	$1.9 Billion
2022	$65 Billion
2023	$10.5 Billion
2024	$33 Billion
2025	$62.9 Billion

As we briefly mentioned in the introduction, Changpeng Zhao’s net worth is primarily derived from his reported 90% stake in Binance. The most impressive aspect of his fortune is that Zhao became a billionaire less than a year after launching the company. He debuted on the Forbes Billionaires Index in 2018, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. For the next few years, things actually remained relatively stable, though he briefly dropped off the Forbes list in 2020.

It’s important to note that, given the nature of Zhao’s business, his net worth is considered cyclical. What we mean is that cryptocurrency markets typically have cycles lasting three to four years. This is based on Bitcoin’s halving cycle, in which mining rewards are halved every time 210,000 BTC blocks are mined. Thus, setting off a chain reaction of events that ultimately results in a bull market. At least, this is what cryptocurrency’s short history has shown us.

During bull markets, Bitcoin has exploded to all-time highs, and there’s normally significant FOMO within the industry. In turn, this leads to increased activity on trading platforms like Binance and to parabolic increases in altcoin prices, such as Binance’s own BNB.

Why is this important?

Two reasons: Firstly, Changpeng Zhao has a substantial cryptocurrency portfolio, including 94 million BNB tokens and an estimated 1,400 BTC. Secondly, Binance’s valuation will naturally fluctuate between bull and bear markets.

How has this played out in terms of his net worth?

In the 2021/2022 bull market, BNB’s coin price rose to an all-time high of $650 per token. With an estimated 94 million BNB tokens in his portfolio, they would have been briefly worth up to $61.1 billion. By 2023, the price had crashed to $200 per token, reducing his stake to roughly $18.8 billion.

Forbes’ estimates differ slightly. The publication reported Zhao’s net worth at $65 billion in 2022, up from $1.9 billion in 2021, then down to $10.5 billion in 2023.

In 2025, BNB’s token price hit a new all-time high of $1,170 per coin, and Binance reportedly had a valuation of $100 billion. Zhao’s fortune rebounded from $10.5 billion to $62.9 billion in just two years. In 2026, his net worth reached $110 billion, and he’s currently ranked as the 17th richest person in the world.

Cryptocurrency Holdings

In February 2025, Changpeng Zhao publicly listed his cryptocurrency holdings in a Twitter post, though only in percentage terms, stating, “I’m a boring guy.” His holdings were as follows:

BNB (Binance coin) – 98.6%
BTC (Bitcoin) – 1.3%
EURI (Eurite) – 0.17%
USDT (Tether) – 0.03%

While exact numbers weren’t listed, reports suggest that Zhao holds 94 million BNB and 1,400 BTC. It’s not clear whether this has always been the case, but assuming it has, we can roughly calculate how much his portfolio has been worth at key points in time.

December 2020 (BNB IPO) – Totals: $3.13 billion
May 2021 (bull market) – Totals: $61.2 billion
June 2022 (market crash) – Totals: $18.4 billion
June 2024 (bull market) – Totals: $64.1 billion
October 2025 (BNB all-time high) – Totals: $110.2 billion
July 2026 (recent prices) – Totals: $54.6 billion

Bank Secrecy Act Violations

In 2023, the United States Department of Justice filed a criminal case against Changpeng Zhao and Binance. The case alleged that Binance failed to prevent money laundering and allowed users in restricted locations to transact on the platform.

Toward the end of the year, Zhao pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and was sentenced to four months in a U.S. federal prison. He also agreed to pay a $50 million fine personally, while Binance paid $4.3 billion in penalties. Following the plea, he stepped down as the CEO of Binance. Zhao was later pardoned by President Trump in 2024.

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Entrepreneurs

David Filo Net Worth

Published

3 months ago

May 8, 2026

John Mulder

Net Worth:	$4.6 Billion
Age:	60
Born:	April 20, 1966
Gender:	Male
Height:	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Entrepreneur
Last Updated:	Aug 14, 2026

Introduction

David Filo is an American billionaire with an estimated net worth of $4.6 Billion.

Filo made his billions as the co-founder of Yahoo in the early 1990s, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The company ultimately went through more than a few missed opportunities as the internet grew. Had things been different, Filo could have become one of the 20 richest people in the world today.

In this profile, we’ll highlight our research into David Filo’s net worth history, the rise and fall of Yahoo!, and other aspects of his finances.

Quick Facts

Debuted on the Forbes Billionaires Index in 1999
Once held a 12.8% stake in Yahoo
Rejected a $44.6 billion offer from Microsoft to acquire Yahoo (2008)
Ultimately sold the primary business to Verizon for $5 billion (2016)

Net Worth History

Year	Net Worth
1996	$42 Million
1998	$840 Million
1999	$4 Billion
2001	$730 Million
2002	$551 Million
2004	$2.2 Billion
2005	$3 Billion
2006	$2.5 Billion
2016	$2.1 Billion
2017	$3.4 Billion
2018	$5.3 Billion
2019	$4.8 Billion
2020	$2.1 Billion
2021	$3.5 Billion
2022	$3.6 Billion
2023	$3.2 Billion
2024	$3.5 Billion
2025	$4.3 Billion
2026	$4.6 Billion

The history of David Filo’s net worth and Yahoo’s market valuation is perhaps one of the most interesting you’ll come across. When the company held its initial public offering in April 1996, it had a valuation of approximately $330 million. To the best of our knowledge, Filo held roughly 12.8% of the shares at the time, which valued his stake at roughly $42 million.

Two years later, Yahoo’s market cap began to experience meteoric rises thanks to the dotcom boom towards the end of the decade. As a result, Filo debuted on the Forbes 400, with an estimated net worth of $840 million. The following year, he was placed on the Forbes Billionaires Index, with a net worth of approximately $4 billion.

Yahoo’s stock price and market capitalization during the last three months of 1999 showed the true gravity of the dotcom bubble. In fact, in just a 30-day period, the company’s valuation more than doubled, from $59 billion to roughly $125 billion by the 3rd of January 2000. This placed Filo’s shares at somewhere between $12.5 billion and $16 billion.

The following year, that bubble burst, and by October 2001, Yahoo’s market cap had fallen to just $6 billion. David dropped off the Forbes index in 2000, and didn’t return until 2004, with a net worth of roughly $2.2 billion. Ever since then, his fortune has ranged between $2 billion and $5.5 billion, depending on the year.

At the time of writing, David Filo is worth an estimated $4.6 billion.

Yahoo!

After graduating from Tulane University with a degree in computer engineering, David Filo enrolled at Stanford. He earned an M.S. degree there in 1990 and, four years later, co-created “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” with Jerry Yang. At the time, this site hosted a human-edited directory of other popular sites on the 90s internet.

Soon after, the site was renamed Yahoo, a name it retains today as one of the biggest sites on the web. Like Bill Gates and Microsoft, David Filo has since earned billions thanks to his hand in creating Yahoo. After being incorporated as a search engine in 1995, Yahoo quickly became the go-to site for looking things up.

In 1996, Yahoo became a public company, and its stock price jumped 600% in just two years. The following year, Yahoo began offering free email after acquiring RocketMail, which was renamed Yahoo Mail.

By 1998, Yahoo was the most popular starting point for internet users and the most used search engine. In 2000, Yahoo began using Google for its search function before developing its own, following its acquisition of Inktomi. To compete with Gmail, Yahoo began offering unlimited email storage in 2007, but Larry Page’s Google continued to grow in popularity.

The Decline

In 2008, David Filo had to lay off hundreds of people as Yahoo struggled to stay afloat. The same year, Microsoft offered $44.6 billion to acquire Yahoo, but the offer was rejected, with the company claiming it undervalued the company. This is after Yahoo missed the opportunity to buy Facebook from Mark Zuckerberg in 2006, having lowballed the deal.

By 2012, Yang had left as CEO, and the once-popular website was looking grim. In 2013, Yahoo acquired the social media blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion, followed by the video advertising provider BrightRoll. A few years later, in 2016, Yahoo’s core business was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.83 billion. Unfortunately, it was too late to turn things around, and data breaches in 2017 only exacerbated Yahoo’s problems.

Yahoo’s Downfall

Following the 2017 data breaches, which caused the company no shortage of headaches, things never turned around. The following year, Yahoo banned all adult content on Tumblr, leading to an extreme amount of backlash and a mass exodus from the site.

In 2021, Yahoo ended operations in mainland China, citing a challenging legal environment. Two years later, Yahoo acquired the social investing platform Commonstock and cut 20% of its workforce. This was after massive layoffs from other tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Google, and Twitter.

In 2024, Yahoo acquired Artifact, an AI-driven news aggregator that pulls news stories from various sources. However, despite these recent acquisitions, Yahoo remains a shadow of its glory from the 1990s. That said, the site has still made David Filo one of the wealthiest people in America, with a net worth of billions.

Most recently, Filo donated $10 million to the University of California, Berkeley School of Journalism, the largest gift in the school’s history.

Real Estate

In December 2012, David Filo paid $1.37 million for a 4,580-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Half Moon Bay, California. He returned this property to the market in August 2017, with an asking price of $2.1 million. It sold for $1.95 million two months later.

Entrepreneurs

Hans Rausing Net Worth

Published

4 months ago

Apr 27, 2026

Dan Western

Net Worth:	$12.8 Billion
Born:	March 25, 1926
Died:	August 30, 2019
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Industrialist
Last Updated:	Aug 14, 2026

Introduction

Hans Rausing was a Swedish industrialist with an estimated net worth of $12.8 Billion.

In this profile, we’ll detail our research into Hans Rausing’s net worth history, Tetra Laval fortune, and the estate he left behind.

Quick Facts

Debuted on the Forbes Billionaires Index in 1987
Sold his 50% stake of Tetra Laval to his brother for $7 billion in 1995
Peak estimated net worth of $12.5 billion in 2018

Net Worth History

Year	Net Worth
2010	$10 Billion
2011	$10 Billion
2012	$10 Billion
2013	$11 Billion
2014	$12 Billion
2015	$12.5 Billion
2016	$12.5 Billion
2017	$12.5 Billion
2018	$12.5 Billion
2019	$12 Billion

At the beginning of the 1990s, Hans Rausing was reportedly worth between $7 billion and $10 billion, due to his ownership stake in Tetra Laval. In 1995, he sold his entire 50% stake to his brother, Gad, for approximately $7 billion in cash. This led to Rausing’s net worth remaining somewhat stagnant throughout the 90s and 2000s, as he was no longer growing his wealth through Tetra.

Instead, Hans invested his billions wisely, allowing his fortune to grow gradually over time. By 2010, he was worth approximately $10 billion, and by 2015, estimates placed his net worth at $12.5 billion. After he died in 2019, the bulk of Rausing’s fortune was inherited by his wife, Marit, and his three children, Lisbet, Sigrid, and Hans Kristian.

Tetra Pak

After graduating from Lund University in 1948, Hans Rausing became the managing director of Tetra Pak in 1954. The company had been primarily focused on manufacturing dairy packaging since its formation in the 1940s, getting its first major patent in 1944. This concept, which introduced tetrahedron-shaped packaging from a tube, became synonymous with the brand, leading to its steady growth.

Throughout the 1950s, Hans Rausing worked to introduce a new packaging system to the company, refining the Tetra Classic system with innovative improvements. As a result, the company expanded its operations significantly, establishing its first production plant outside Sweden in 1960 in Mexico.

Transformation Of Tetra Pak Into A Global Powerhouse

The expansion of production to different regions around the world continued under Rausing’s guidance throughout the 1960s.

By the 1980s, a series of mergers and acquisitions had led to Tetra Pak emerging as a global player in the packaging industry. Rausing understood the importance of leveraging assets for growth. This included many business deals through the Tetra Leval Group, which was created in 1993 and has its headquarters in Lund and Lausanne.

By 2021, Tetra Pak was operating in over 160 countries, providing packaging supplies to a range of emerging markets and generating significant annual turnover. The brand has reported near-consistent increases in sales over the decades, with annual turnover exceeding $10 billion.

Notable Products & Technology

Hans Rausing’s long and impressive career has been characterized by his association with a diverse range of products and technological advancements. The company pioneered aseptic processing for dual sterilization, introducing ultra-high temperatures to extend the shelf life of food products.

In addition to the Tetra Pak, they have revolutionized many space-saving approaches to packaging design, saving businesses millions of dollars. Their most popular product, the Tetra Brik Aseptic, has been a proven best-selling item for the company since the early 1970s.

More recently, Rausing’s influence has enabled the company to become the industry leader in sustainable and eco-friendly drinking containers. Their designs have received international acclaim and are widely regarded as iconic and revolutionary, with exhibitions dedicated to these accomplishments at science museums.

Philanthropy

Like many other highly wealthy individuals, such as Warren Buffett, Hans Rausing has made numerous charitable donations over the years. He has also invested funds in a range of philanthropic ventures, often in close association with his wife, Marit, in both Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Rausing’s daughter is also involved in these activities, notably using money from her Arcadia fund to finance the Hans Rausing Endangered Languages project. Rausing contributed funds to numerous scientific research projects throughout his career, as well as community projects through the Marit and Hans Rausing Fund.