Jan Koum
CEO, cofounder, WhatsApp Inc.
$16.26B
as of 07/05/24
About Jan Koum
Jan Koum cofounded WhatsApp, now the world's biggest mobile messaging service, in 2009.
Facebook bought the startup for $22 billion in cash and stock in 2014.
He resigned as CEO of WhatsApp in April 2018 and announced he would leave Facebook's board as well.
Koum worked at Yahoo for nearly nine years before leaving to found WhatsApp.
Koum has donated $1.15 billion of Facebook stock to charitable entities, including to his Koum Family Foundation.
Personal stats
Citizenship
United States of AmericaSource of wealth
WhatsAppResidence
Atherton, CaliforniaMarital status
SingleBirth date
02/24/76 (age 48)Education
Drop Out, San Jose State UniversitySelf-made
self-madeJan Koum’s fortune is worth
271K
troy ounces of gold
250K
median U.S. household
163K
median U.S. income
0.325%
U.S. credit card volume
0.065%
GDP of the United States
0.048%
United States debt
Net worth history
Annual ranking
Related people
Did you know?
Koum signed the deal to sell WhatsApp to Facebook in an abandoned building where he once collected food stamps as a teenager.
Net worth over time
Real-time ranking
Financial assets
NASDAQ | META-US
Meta PlatformsImages © Forbes.com. All rights reserved.