Chamath Palihapitiya facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chamath Palihapitiya
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Palihapitiya in 2016
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| Born | 3 September 1976 |
| Citizenship |
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| Education | University of Waterloo (BASc) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Brigette Lau
(div. 2018)Nathalie Dompé
(m. 2023) |
| Children | 5 |
Chamath Palihapitiya (born 3 September 1976) is a successful businessman and investor. He was born in Sri Lanka and later became a citizen of Canada and the United States. He is known for being a venture capitalist, which means he invests in new companies that have a lot of potential to grow. Chamath also founded and is the CEO of a company called Social Capital.
Before starting his own company, Palihapitiya worked at Facebook from 2007 to 2011. After leaving Facebook, he invested in many well-known companies like Yammer and Slack. He also co-hosts a popular technology podcast called All-In.
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Early life and education
Chamath Palihapitiya was born in Sri Lanka on September 3, 1976. His family is from a city called Galle. When he was five years old, his father, who worked for the Sri Lankan government, moved the family to Canada.
A few years later, when his father's job ended, the family asked to stay in Canada. This was because his father had spoken out about violence during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Life was not always easy for Chamath's family in Canada. His father often didn't have a job, and his mother worked low-paying housekeeping jobs. To help his family, Chamath started working at a Burger King when he was just 14 years old. His father passed away in 2014.
Chamath went to Lisgar Collegiate Institute for high school. After that, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Waterloo and graduated in 1999. For a year, he worked as a trader at an investment bank called BMO Nesbitt Burns. Then, he got a job offer from a company called Winamp and moved to California.
Career journey
Early career: Winamp, AOL, and Facebook
Chamath Palihapitiya joined Winamp, which was later bought by AOL. At AOL, he became one of the youngest vice presidents, leading the team that handled instant messaging in 2004.
In 2005, he left AOL and worked at a company called Mayfield Fund. Then, in 2007, he joined Facebook. At that time, Facebook was still quite new, only about three years old.
At Facebook, Chamath first worked on an advertising system called Facebook Beacon. This project didn't go well. After that, he focused on helping Facebook get more users. Thanks to his efforts and others, Facebook grew to have 1 billion users in four years. Before he left Facebook, he also worked on projects like the Facebook Phone and Facebook Home.
Social Capital: Investing in the future
In 2011, Chamath left Facebook to start his own investment fund called The Social+Capital Partnership. He started it with his wife at the time. In 2015, the company changed its name to Social Capital.
Through this fund, Palihapitiya invested in many different companies. Some of these included Glooko, Inc, Yammer, SecondMarket, Slack, and Box. By 2015, the fund had over $1.1 billion to invest, mostly from other investors.
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In 2018, Social Capital changed how it worked. It became more like a "family office," meaning it mostly managed Chamath's own investments. However, it still managed some money for other investors without charging fees.
Since then, Social Capital has focused on investing in three main areas:
- Climate science: Companies that help with environmental issues.
- Life sciences and biotechnology: Companies working on health and medical advancements.
- Decentralized digital economy: This includes new technologies like blockchain, crypto, and digital assets.
SPACs: Helping companies go public
Chamath Palihapitiya has also been very involved with something called a Special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). A SPAC is like a blank check company that raises money from investors to buy an existing private company and make it public on the stock market.
In 2019, he helped Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, become a public company using a SPAC. He later sold his shares in Virgin Galactic. In 2022, he stepped down as the chairman of Virgin Galactic.
In 2020, Social Capital Hedosophia helped Opendoor, an online real estate company, go public through a SPAC. In 2021, he also announced plans to help SoFi, a financial services company, and Clover Health, a Medicare insurance company, go public using SPACs.
Political interests and activities
Chamath Palihapitiya has given money to the Democratic Party in the United States. He has also hosted fundraising events for political figures from both parties, including Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump.
Advocating for change
Palihapitiya was one of the "Founders" of a group called FWD.us. This group started in 2013 and works to improve things like immigration laws, education, and technology in the United States. He believes it's important to invest in these areas to help the country.
California Governor campaign
In January 2021, Chamath Palihapitiya said he might run for Governor of California if the current governor was recalled. He talked about ideas like cutting state income tax, offering free education vouchers, and giving money for every child born in California. He also wanted to make California a leader in climate and technology jobs.
However, in February 2021, Palihapitiya decided not to run for governor.
Comments on human rights
Palihapitiya once made comments about human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority in China. He later apologized for these comments, saying that he recognized he seemed "lacking empathy." He clarified that he believes "human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere. Full stop." The Golden State Warriors, where he is a part-owner, also stated that his views did not represent their organization.
Investments and giving back
While working at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya also invested in several new companies through another investment fund.
In 2010, Palihapitiya helped buy the Golden State Warriors, a professional basketball team, for $450 million. He is still a small owner and a board member of the team. His investment in the team has grown a lot over the years.
Chamath has also given money to his old university, the University of Waterloo. In 2018, he donated $25 million to their engineering department.
In 2021, he gave $7 million to help provide clean drinking water to 1,000 families in California. This was done through a partnership with a foundation and a company that makes solar-powered devices to get water from the air.
Personal life
After college, Chamath moved to California with his future wife, Brigette Lau. They had three children together before they divorced in 2018.
Chamath now lives in California with his second wife, Nathalie Dompé. She is an Italian businesswoman and they have two children together. They got married in Italy in July 2023.
In an interview, Palihapitiya said he tries to keep his children away from social media. He believes it's important for kids not to rely too much on devices as babysitters.
Chamath Palihapitiya is also a big poker player. He has won money in several major poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker.
In 2020, he bought a private jet called a Bombardier Global 7500.
See also
In Spanish: Chamath Palihapitiya para niños
- List of University of Waterloo people
Images for kids
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Palihapitiya in 2007 speaking at a Facebook event.
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Palihapitiya speaking at Graphing Social Patterns conference in San Jose.
