Larry Page facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry Page
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Page in 2009
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Lawrence Edward Page
March 26, 1973 Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
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Lucinda Southworth
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| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Carrie Southworth (sister-in-law) |
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Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman and computer expert. He is most famous for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin.
Larry Page was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Google twice. First, from 1997 to 2001. Then again from 2011 to 2015. After that, he became the CEO of Google's new parent company, Alphabet Inc.. He stepped down from his executive roles in 2019. However, he is still a board member and a major shareholder of Alphabet.
Page is one of the richest people in the world. He also invests in companies that are building flying cars. He helped create PageRank, an important algorithm that helps Google search work. He even won the Marconi Prize in 2004 for this invention.
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Early Life and Interests
Lawrence Edward Page was born on March 26, 1973, in Lansing, Michigan. His parents were both computer experts. His father was a computer science professor. His mother taught computer programming. Larry grew up in a home filled with computers and science magazines. This environment made him very curious about technology.
Page loved reading when he was young. He also played musical instruments, especially the saxophone. He believes his music training helped him think about speed. This idea later influenced how he wanted Google to work super fast.
Larry became interested in computers at age six. He would play with the early personal computers his parents had. He was the first kid in his elementary school to use a word processor for homework. His older brother taught him to take things apart. Larry soon took apart everything in his house to see how it worked. He knew from a young age that he wanted to invent things and start a company.
Education and Big Ideas
Page went to Okemos Montessori School. He then attended East Lansing High School. For two summers, he studied music at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995. Later, he received a Master of Science degree in computer science from Stanford University in 1998.
While at the University of Michigan, Larry built an inkjet printer using Lego bricks. He wanted to find a cheap way to print large posters. He also suggested that the university replace its bus system with a driverless monorail. He even created a business plan for a company that would make a music synthesizer using software.
Creating Google: BackRub
At Stanford University, Larry Page started his PhD studies. He looked for a topic for his main research project. He decided to study the mathematical connections between web pages. His professor encouraged this idea. Page later said it was the best advice he ever got.
Page focused on how many other web pages linked to a certain page. He thought this "backlink" information was very valuable. Sergey Brin, another Stanford student, joined Page's project. They called their project "BackRub."
Together, they wrote a famous paper called "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine." This paper became one of the most downloaded science papers on the internet.
John Battelle, a co-founder of Wired magazine, explained Page's idea:
"The entire Web was loosely based on the idea of citation. What is a link but a citation? If he could find a way to count and rate each backlink on the Web, the Web would become more valuable."
Brin found the "BackRub" project fascinating. He said it was the most exciting project because it dealt with the Web, which holds all human knowledge. He also liked working with Larry.
Developing the Search Engine
To figure out how important a web page was, Brin and Page created the PageRank algorithm. They realized this algorithm could build a much better search engine than any other. It looked at how relevant the links were that connected web pages.
They turned Page's dorm room into a lab. They used spare computer parts to connect their new search engine to Stanford's internet network. When Page's room was full, they used Brin's dorm room as an office. Their project grew so fast that it caused problems for Stanford's computer systems.
Page and Brin used basic HTML to make a simple search page. They didn't have a web designer. They also gathered any computer parts they could find. They needed more power to handle searches from many users. In August 1996, the first version of Google was available on the Stanford University website.
By early 1997, the "BackRub" page showed how much data they had. It had indexed over 75 million HTML pages and downloaded 207 gigabytes of content. BackRub could already take a search query and give a list of pages ranked by importance. Page realized they had a powerful tool. By mid-1998, they were getting 10,000 searches a day. They knew their project was something special.
Many people compare Page and Brin's invention to Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. Gutenberg's invention spread knowledge much faster. Google has done something similar by making information easily available to everyone.
Google's Journey and Leadership
Starting Google
In 1998, Brin and Page officially started Google, Inc. The name "Googol" comes from a number: one followed by one hundred zeros. This showed the huge amount of data their search engine would explore. Larry Page became the first CEO, and Sergey Brin was the president.
Their goal was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." With money from friends and family, they moved into an office in Mountain View, California. Page experimented with smaller servers. This made Google much faster than other search engines at the time.
By June 2000, Google had indexed one billion internet addresses. This made it the most complete search engine on the Web.
Early Leadership Style
As CEO, Page wanted engineers to report directly to him. He believed that non-engineers shouldn't manage engineers because they lacked technical knowledge. He had some rules for his team:
- Do things yourself to make them faster.
- Don't get in the way if you're not helping.
- Don't be a bureaucrat.
- Ideas are more important than age.
- If you say "No," you must help find a better way.
Page also believed that a faster search engine would be used more often. He pushed his engineers to make Google's search results load in milliseconds. This is why Google's homepage is so simple and clean. It helps pages load quickly.
Changes in Management and Growth
In 2001, investors wanted a more experienced leader for Google. Larry Page agreed to step down as CEO. Eric Schmidt became the new CEO in August 2001. Page became the president of products.
Under Schmidt, Google grew a lot. It became a public company in 2004. Page still had a lot of influence. He approved all new hires. He also signed the papers for the company's public offering, which made him a billionaire at age 30.
Page wanted people to access Google everywhere. So, in 2005, he led the purchase of Android for $50 million. This was done without Schmidt's knowledge, but it turned out to be a great move. Android became the most popular mobile operating system in the world.
Page Returns as CEO
In April 2011, Larry Page became Google's CEO again. Eric Schmidt became the executive chairman. By this time, Google was a huge company with thousands of employees.
As CEO, Page wanted more freedom for his executives. He also wanted better teamwork and communication. He created the "L-Team," a group of senior leaders who worked closely with him. He also put CEO-like managers in charge of Google's main products, like YouTube and Google Search.
Page introduced a "zero tolerance for fighting" rule. He wanted a harmonious team. He believed that big goals needed everyone to work together. Google's products were also updated to have a more unified and clean look.
New Products and Acquisitions
Page used a "toothbrush test" when buying companies for Google. He asked: "Is it something you will use once or twice a day, and does it make your life better?" This meant he looked for usefulness over quick profits.
In 2011, Google launched its own social network, Google+, to compete with Facebook.
Page also led the purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2011. This was mainly to get patents to protect Android from lawsuits by other companies like Apple Inc.. Later, in 2014, Google sold Motorola Mobility for $2.9 billion.
In 2012, Google released the Chromebook, a laptop that runs on Google's ChromeOS.
Focusing on Big Ideas
In 2013, Page talked about his "10X" mentality. This means Google employees should aim to create products that are 10 times better than what already exists. Page said, "If you're not doing some things that are crazy, then you're doing the wrong things." He used YouTube and Android as examples of "crazy" ideas that became very successful.
At a conference in 2013, Page said that the internet was "under much greater attack." He worried about governments trying to limit people's freedoms online. He also said that companies should focus on building new things instead of just competing.
In September 2013, Page started Calico. This is a research project focused on biotechnology and human health. Google wants Calico to find ways to improve millions of lives by tackling illness and aging.
In 2014, Page changed Google's management structure. He wanted to focus on ambitious "moonshot" projects. These included Google X initiatives, Google Fiber, smart-home products through Nest Labs, and Calico. Sundar Pichai took over the day-to-day management of Google's main products.
Creating Alphabet Inc.
On August 10, 2015, Larry Page announced a big change. Google was restructured into a new parent company called Alphabet Inc.. Page became the CEO of Alphabet, and Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Google.
Page explained that Alphabet is a collection of companies. Google is the largest one. This change allowed different parts of the company to run more independently. He said the name "Alphabet" means a collection of letters that represent language. It also means "alpha-bet," which refers to getting good investment returns.
Page said the goal was to make Google "cleaner and more accountable." It also allowed for better control of companies that were not directly related to Google's main internet products.
In December 2019, Larry Page stepped down as Alphabet CEO. Sundar Pichai took over that role as well, while also remaining Google CEO. Page and Brin said it was time to simplify the management structure.
Other Interests
Larry Page is an investor in Tesla Motors, a company co-founded by his friend Elon Musk. He also invests in renewable energy technology. Through Google.org, Google's charity arm, he supports electric cars and other green energy projects.
He also backs startups like Opener and Kitty Hawk. These companies are developing vehicles that can fly for personal travel.
Page is interested in how advanced technology can create a better future. He thinks it can help provide for people's needs and even shorten the workweek. He also helped create Singularity University, a think-tank that explores advanced technologies.
Personal Life
In 2007, Larry Page married Lucinda Southworth on Necker Island. Southworth is a research scientist. They have two children, born in 2009 and 2011.
In 2005, Page bought a historic Spanish Colonial Revival architecture house in Palo Alto. It was designed by Pedro Joseph de Lemos. In 2009, he started buying properties next to his home to build a large ecohouse. This house was designed to be very environmentally friendly. It uses recycled materials and has solar panels.
In 2011, Page bought a $45-million superyacht called Senses.
In 2013, Page shared that he has a paralyzed vocal cord. This makes his voice sound different. He has donated a lot of money to research vocal cord nerve function.
In 2014, Page's family foundation, the Carl Victor Page Memorial Fund, donated $15 million to help fight the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.
In 2021, it was reported that Page has a New Zealand resident's visa. He traveled there for his son's medical treatment. He had been living in Fiji with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Page has also bought several private islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific. These include Hans Lollik Island, Eustatia Island, Cayo Norte, and Tavarua.
Awards and Recognition
Larry Page has received many awards for his work with Google:
- In 1998, PC Magazine named Google one of the Top 100 Web Sites.
- In 1999, Google won the Technical Excellence Award for innovation.
- In 2000, Google won a Webby Award.
- In 2002, Page was named a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.
- Also in 2002, Technology Review named him one of the top 100 innovators under 35.
- In 2003, Page and Brin received an honorary MBA degree.
- In 2004, they won the Marconi Foundation's prize. They were praised for changing how information is found today.
- Page and Brin also received the Golden Plate Award in 2004.
- In 2005, they became Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 2008, Page received the Communication Award from Prince Felipe on behalf of Google.
- In 2009, the University of Michigan gave Page an honorary doctorate degree.
- In 2015, Forbes magazine called Google "the most influential company of the digital era."
- In 2014, Fortune magazine named Page its "Businessperson of the Year." They called him "the world's most daring CEO."
- In 2015, Forbes named Page number one on its "America's Most Popular Chief Executives" list. This was based on votes from Google's employees.
- In 2017, Page was given honorary citizenship of Agrigento, Italy.
Images for kids
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Larry Page's signature
See also
In Spanish: Larry Page para niños
