What is Eduardo Saverin’s net worth?
Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian-born internet entrepreneur, is worth $10 billion for co-founding Facebook in 2004.
Providing the company with its first investment of approximately $15,000, Saverin’s funds were used to cover startup costs and purchase servers.
While Zuckerberg moved to Palo Alto to run the company, Saverin accepted a summer internship at Lehman Brothers in New York City and played no further role in Facebook.
Despite legal battles with Zuckerberg, Saverin’s investment has made him one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Today, he has no decision-making power or connection to Facebook’s operation, making him the only co-founder without any involvement in the company.
Eduardo Saverin’s Background
Eduardo Luiz Saverin was born on March 19, 1982, in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a wealthy Jewish family. His family moved to Rio de Janeiro while he was growing up. His father, Roberto, worked in the clothing, shipping, and real estate industries. His mother, Sandra, was a psychologist. He has two siblings.
In 1993, Eduardo’s family immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Miami, Florida after Eduardo’s name was discovered on a list of kidnapping victims by gangs specializing in kidnapping for ransom.
Saverin attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami before attending Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2006. At Harvard, he was president of the Harvard Investment Association, a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and a member of the Phoenix S.K. Club. While an undergraduate at Harvard, he used his interest in meteorology to predict hurricanes and make $300,000 through investing in oil futures.
Saverin’s Romanian-born grandfather, Eugenio Saverine, was the founder of the chain of children’s clothing stores called Tip Top.
Eduardo Saverin’s Role in Co-Founding Facebook
Eduardo Saverin met Mark Zuckerberg during their time at Harvard and provided the funds for the initial launch of TheFacebook.com in 2004. As co-founder, Saverin held the positions of chief financial officer and business manager. However, their relationship soured when Zuckerberg discovered that Saverin was running unauthorized ads on Facebook for his own job website, Joboozle. Zuckerberg sent a furious email accusing Saverin of competing with Facebook and being “mean.”
By the time Zuckerberg moved to Palo Alto to run the business, Saverin owned 34% of Facebook. However, their toxic relationship ultimately led to Saverin’s departure from the company and a legal battle over his ownership stake. Despite this, Saverin’s role in co-founding Facebook cannot be denied.
Eduardo Saverin’s Dispute with Mark Zuckerberg Over Facebook Shares
Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, started feeling left out and resentful of Mark Zuckerberg’s business decisions. In protest, he froze Facebook’s bank account. Zuckerberg responded with a sneaky form of corporate sabotage.
Facebook was about to accept a $500,000 investment for 9% of the business from Peter Thiel. Before the transaction could occur, Facebook needed to form a new Delaware-based LLC that would acquire the former Florida-based corporation. Eduardo initially went from owning 34% of their former company to 24% of the new company. He signed an agreement that handed over his rights to Facebook’s intellectual property and his 3 million former “founder’s shares.” After the transaction, Facebook issued 9 million brand new shares to all the founders EXCEPT Eduardo. This reduced Saverin’s stake to less than 10%.
Eduardo was furious when he found out and quickly filed a lawsuit. Facebook counter-sued arguing that the stock-purchase agreements Saverin signed in October 2005 were invalid. Saverin alleged that Zuckerberg spent Facebook’s money (Saverin’s money) on personal expenses over the summer. Both lawsuits were settled out of court with Eduardo’s stake eventually increased to a much more significant stake in the company.
Eduardo Saverin’s Ventures
In 2015, Eduardo Saverin founded B Capital with friend Raj Ganguly, overseeing more than $1 billion across four offices and two funds. The fund closed initial deals of over $140 million in Asia, including $30 million in logistics startup Ninja Van. Saverin also invested in Anideo, a video-streaming application, and early-stage startups such as Shopsavvy, Qwiki, and Jumio, which created the online payment system Netswipe. He co-founded Aporta, an online portal for charity.
Eduardo Saverin: From Facebook to Singapore
In September 2011, Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship and avoided an estimated $700 million in capital gains taxes. He has been living in Singapore since 2009 and stated that he renounced his U.S. citizenship because he wanted to work and live in Singapore. However, he denied accusations of leaving the U.S. to avoid paying taxes.
Saverin and Elaine Andriejanssen got engaged in 2014 and married on June 25, 2015, in the French Riviera. She is a Chinese Indonesian woman who was educated at Singapore’s Raffles Girls’ School and Tufts University. She worked as a quantitative research analyst at Franklin Templeton Investments. Her family runs several businesses in Indonesia.
Saverin was portrayed by Andrew Garfield in the film The Social Network, which depicted the founding years of Facebook.
Eduardo Saverin’s Facebook Shares
According to the filing after Facebook’s IPO, Eduardo Saverin held just under 2% of the company’s outstanding shares, worth $2.18 billion. However, he had sold off more than half of his shares before the IPO, resulting in a lower net worth.
Eduardo Saverin’s Luxurious Properties in Singapore
In 2019, Eduardo Saverin purchased a two-acre home in one of Singapore’s most expensive neighborhoods for $167 million. The gated property features a two-story house with a pool, tennis court, and large yard. Additionally, he reportedly owns a luxury penthouse suite in Singapore’s tallest residential building.
