| Michael Moritz | |
|---|---|
 Moritz at TechCrunch40, September 2007 |
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| Born | 1954/1955 (age 58–59)[1] Cardiff, Wales |
| Residence | San Francisco, California |
| Ethnicity | Jewish[2] |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | Christ Church, Oxford University Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Partner at Sequoia Capital[3] |
| Net worth |  US $ 1.8 billion (est.)(March 2011)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Married, 2 children |
Michael Moritz (born 12 September 1954)[4] is a Welsh venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California in Silicon Valley, a former member of the board of directors of Google,[5][6] and a philanthropist and writer.
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Life and career [edit]
Moritz was born in Cardiff, Wales. He was educated at Howardian High School in Cardiff before moving on to Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history. In 1978, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as a Thouron Scholar.[5][7]
Moritz joined Sequoia in 1986 after working as a reporter for Time, writing the 1984 book The Little Kingdom: the Private Story of Apple Computer, and co-authoring "Going for Broke: The Chrysler Story" (with Barrett Seaman, TIME's Detroit bureau chief). After leaving Time, Moritz co-founded Technologic Partners, a technology newsletter and conference company.[5]
His internet company investments include Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, Webvan, YouTube, eToys, and Zappos.[8] He currently sits on the boards of; 24/7 Customer, Earth Networks, Gamefly, HealthCentral, Green Dot Corporation, Klarna, Kayak.com, LinkedIn, Stripe and Sugar Inc.. Moritz previously served on the boards of A123 Systems, Aricent Group, Atom Entertainment, CenterRun, eGroups, Flextronics, Google, ITA Software, Luxim, PayPal, Plaxo, Pure Digital, Saba Software, Yahoo!, and Zappos.[9] Google was a rare co-investment with John Doerr of rival venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,[10] and the initial public offering of the company in 2004 made him one of Wales' richest men.[11] His investment in Google helped him achieve the number one listing in Forbes' "Midas List" of the top dealmakers in the technology industry in 2006 and 2007,[12] and a place on the 2007 "TIME 100".[13] He ranked number 2 on the Midas List for 2008[14] and 2009.[15] He is listed by The Sunday Times as having a fortune of UK£558 million (circa US$1.1 billion).[16]
In 2009, 25 years after "The Little Kingdom," Michael Moritz published a revised and expanded follow-up: "Return to the Little Kingdom: How Apple and Steve Jobs Changed the World" is available from The Overlook Press.[17]
On 12 July 2010, Michael Moritz was conferred an Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University,[18] where his father had previously been employed.
He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.[5][11] He was a prominent supporter of President Barack Obama's candidacy.
In May 2012 he announced that he was diagnosed with a rare, incurable medical condition and would step back from his day-to-day responsibilities at Sequoia Capital while also being elevated to the position of chairman of the firm.[19]
Philanthropy [edit]
On 18 June 2008, Michael Moritz and his wife, American novelist Harriet Heyman, announced a donation of US$50m to Christ Church, Oxford, his former college, the largest single donation in the college’s history.
On 11 July 2012, it was announced Moritz had donated £75m to Oxford University to support students from families with an income below £16,000 per year.[20]
Moritz is a signatory of The Giving Pledge committing himself to give away at least 50% of his wealth to charitable causes.[21]
On 13 February 2013 he gave $5 millions for Juilliard's MAP(Music Advancement Program).
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Michael Moritz - Forbes". Forbes. March 9, 2011. "Net worth: $1.8 Billion"
- ^ http://www.rankforsales.com/news-bc/814-seo-oct-05-04.html
- ^ "Michael Moritz Bio". Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ NNDB
- ^ a b c d Michael Moritz's profile, LinkedIn.com
- ^ "Michael Moritz Will Not Seek Re-Election to Google's Board of Directors", Google press release, March 22, 2007
- ^ http://www.thouronaward.org/docs/thouronnewssu07.pdf
- ^ "Gags-to-riches tale of the Welsh wizard who bet on YouTube", Heather Connon, The Observer, October 15, 2006
- ^ http://www.sequoiacap.com/us/michael-moritz
- ^ "Google Receives $25 Million in Equity Funding", Google press release, June 7, 1999
- ^ a b "Google investor to earn £1.3bn", BBC News, May 1, 2004
- ^ "#1 Michael Moritz", Forbes.com Midas List 2007, January 25, 2007
- ^ "Builders & Titans: Michael Moritz", Eric Schmidt, TIME, May 2007
- ^ "#2 Michael Moritz", Forbes.com Midas List 2008, January 24, 2008]
- ^ "#2 Michael Moritz", Forbes.com Midas List 2009, January 29, 2009]
- ^ "Sir Terry still 'Wales richest'", BBC News, April 29, 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2], Cardiff University Fellows 2010
- ^ [3], GigaOm, May 21, 2012
- ^ [4], BBC News, July 11, 2012
- ^ Jewish Voice New York: "Jewish Billionaires Join Group Pledging Majority of Their Wealth to Charity" by Sholom Schreiber April 25, 2005
External links [edit]
- Sequoia Capital Website
- Michael Moritz at CrunchBase
- Michael Moritz interviews Marc Andreesen (Netscape, Opsware, Ning), David Filo (Yahoo) and Chad Hurley (YouTube) at TechCrunch40 conference video
- NY Times- C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success
- Business Week- Lessons from a Long-Ball Hitter
- Video of Michael Moritz on growing up in Wales, attending Oxford and working with entrepreneurs
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