8. Larry Page
- Age: 47
- Residence: Palo Alto, Calif.
- Co-founder and Board Member: Alphabet (GOOG)
- Net Worth: $81.7 billion
- Alphabet Ownership Stake: 6% ($69.2 billion)
- Other Assets: $12.5 billion in cash
Like several tech billionaires on this list, Larry Page’s claim to fame got its start in a college dorm room. While attending Stanford University in 1995, Page and his friend Sergey Brin came up with the idea of improving data extraction capabilities while accessing the Internet. The duo devised a new type of search engine technology they dubbed “BackRub,” named after its ability to analyze “backing links.” From there, Page and Brin went on to found Google in 1998, with the former serving as CEO of the company until he stepped down in 2001.
Google is one of the largest Internet search engines on the planet, accounting for more than 70% of global online search requests. In 2006, Google (the company) expanded by purchasing Youtube, the biggest platform for user-submitted videos. Then, 2008 saw the release of the first mobile phone utilizing the Android operating system, which was originally developed by Android Inc. prior to Google acquiring the company in 2005. Today, Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet, a holding company for which Page served as CEO between 2015–2019.
Page is also a founding investor of Planetary Resources, a space-exploration and asteroid-mining company. Originally established in 2009, the company was acquired by blockchain firm ConsenSys in 2018 amid funding problems. He has also shown an interest in “flying car” companies, having invested in both Kitty Hawk and Opener.
