Ask HN: PG's Net Worth?

2 points·Zakuzaa··9 comments

Just curious :-)

P.S. I won't copy his business model. Promise.

Not sure, but he sold ViaWeb for $20 mil. There were 3 of founders, no outside VC I don't think. So a third? After taxes maybe 5 mil. Reinvested over the years, maybe a little more (y-combinator has had some exits, but not many). This is purely a guess though. I have no idea.

Viaweb sold for more like $45 million. See http://docs.yahoo.com/docs/pr/release184.html

Ahh thanks for the correction, didn't know.

Isn't that his business and not yours?

What's wrong with wanting to know something about someone?

Nothing, although I admit that if I was pg I might be slightly creeped out.

Forbes does it and nobody complains about that.

I don't know, personally I think those Forbes lists are a menace. What if you get rich but don't want the bullshit that comes from everyone knowing you're loaded?

I think the bullshit you're talking about is a large sacrifice/trade-off when you get rich and happens to everybody so I guess the best strategy is to learn to deal with it, which can be anything from spending insanely until you're back to square one or embracing the fact you're known as rich.

I think the only issue I can imagine having is the enormous pressure by the media to be a philanthropist. It seems to me that no matter how much you do or give, nobody seems happy. However, it's only raw speculation since my net worth is probably that of a single bag of peanuts.

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