jackpot

Max Levchin has more money, less sleep than you

Megan McCarthy · 10/29/07 06:30PM

Sunday's New York Times profile of PayPal and Slide founder Max Levchin tackles the phenomena of serial entrepreneurs. What makes them start multiple companies after a multimillion-dollar IPO or sale? The short answer: Money, but not in the way that you think. Levchin talks about how Slide's exit needs to be more than the $1.5 billion PayPal received, plus inflation, for him to be pleased with the outcome. (Look no further than fellow PayPal Mafia membes Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who sold YouTube for a PayPal-topping $1.65 billion, for another example of this behavior.) Netcape cofounder Marc Andreessen, who was interviewed for the article, points out the obvious in Silicon Valley: No one here really cares about money in the consumption sense, but everyone cares about having more than the other guy. San Francisco society blog SF Luxe begs entrepreneurs to become conspicuous in their consumption, and we'd like to agree. It's more fun for the rest of us.

Mark Zuckerberg, the $5 billion man

Megan McCarthy · 10/24/07 06:48PM

One thing has been overlooked in today's Facebook valuation announcement — how much the major players can now claim to be worth. A source tells us that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg owns about 30 percent of the company, meaning that the 23-year-old Harvard dropout is now a paper billionaire, four times over. That's more than Yahoo cofounders Jerry Yang and David Filo, and closing in on Google CEO Eric Schmidt. He is, possibly, now the wealthiest 20something in the world. (I checked on the Forbes Young Billionaire list, and the only one who was close was Albert von Eurosomething.) Other winners?

MySpace boys are paid more than almost anyone at News Corp.

Jordan Golson · 10/18/07 06:25PM

The deal that MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson got from Rupert Murdoch will pay them more than every exec at News Corp. except Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News. Nikki Finke notes that their pay package is particulary impressive because News Corp. is stingy with executive compensation. The pair are rumored to receive $15 million spread over two years — plus equity in MySpace China.

Jordan Golson · 10/02/07 02:49PM

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison sold $21.8 million worth of Oracle stock in a prearranged selloff. Maybe he can use some of that cash to strike a deal with NASA to park his jet at conveniently located, but normally off-limits to civilians, Moffett Field. [MarketWatch]