- Michael Moritz
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Michael Moritz
Moritz at TechCrunch40, September 2007Born 1954/1955 (age 56–57)[1]
Cardiff, WalesResidence San Francisco, California Citizenship United States Education Christ Church, Oxford University
Wharton School of the University of PennsylvaniaOccupation Partner at Sequoia Capital[2] Net worth US $ 1.8 billion (est.)(March 2011)[1] Board member of 24/7 Customer, Gamefly, Green Dot, Kayak.com, Klarna, LinkedIn and Sugar Inc. Spouse Married, 2 children Michael Moritz (born 1954) is a Welsh-American venture capitalist with Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, California in Silicon Valley, and a former member of the board of directors of Google Inc.[3][4]
Life and career
Moritz was born in Cardiff, Wales. He was educated at Howardian High School in Cardiff before moving on to Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated as a Master of Arts in history. In 1978, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[3]
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.[3]
His internet company investments include Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, Apple Computer, Cisco, Webvan, YouTube, eToys, and Zappos.[5] He currently sits on the Board of Directors of 24/7 Customer, Gamefly, Green Dot Corporation, Kayak.com, Klarna, LinkedIn and Sugar Inc.[6] Google was a rare co-investment with John Doerr of rival venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,[7] and the initial public offering of the company in 2004 made him one of Wales' richest men.[8] 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,[9] and a place on the 2007 "TIME 100".[10] He ranked number 2 on the Midas List for 2008[11] and 2009.[12] He is listed by The Sunday Times as having a fortune of UK£558 million (circa US$1.1 billion).[13]
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.
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.[14]
On 12 July 2010, Michael Moritz was conferred a Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University,[15] where his father had previously been employed.
He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.[3][8] He was a prominent supporter of President Barack Obama's candidacy.
References
- ^ a b "Michael Moritz - Forbes". Forbes. March 9, 2011. http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-moritz. "Net worth: $1.8 Billion"
- ^ "Michael Moritz Bio". http://www.sequoiacap.com/people/michael-moritz/. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
- ^ 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
- ^ "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
External links
- Sequoia Capital Website
- 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
Private equity and venture capital investors Investment strategy History History of private equity and venture capital · Early history of private equity · Private equity in the 1980s · Private equity in the 1990s · Private equity in the 2000sInvestor types Private equity investors · Venture capitalists · Corporate raidersCategories:- 1954 births
- Time (magazine) people
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- Living people
- English Jews
- People from Cardiff
- Venture capitalists
- Welsh businesspeople
- Welsh billionaires
- Wharton School alumni
- Welsh Jews
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