Jan Koum
Born 1976 · Age 49
Ukrainian‑American computer programmer and entrepreneur; co‑founder and former CEO of WhatsApp, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR
Jan Borysovych Koum born into a Jewish family in Kiev (now Kyiv), then part of the Soviet Union.
Immigrated to the United States (Mountain View, CA)
Moved with his mother and grandmother to Mountain View, California; family lived in government‑assisted housing.
Began college and security‑testing job
Enrolled at San Jose State University and worked simultaneously as a security tester at Ernst & Young.
Joined w00w00 hacker/think‑tank
Became a member of the w00w00 computer security group, meeting peers including Shawn Fanning and Jordan Ritter.
Restraining order issued (legal incident)
A San Jose court issued a restraining order against Koum after an ex‑girlfriend accused him of threats; he later apologized (2014).
Hired by Yahoo! as infrastructure engineer
Joined Yahoo! as an infrastructure engineer; soon quit school to work full‑time.
Met Brian Acton
Met future WhatsApp co‑founder Brian Acton while working at Ernst & Young.
Father passed away
Koum's father — who had planned to join the family in the U.S. — died in Ukraine.
Career at Yahoo! (infrastructure/security)
Worked at Yahoo! for roughly nine years, gaining experience in large‑scale infrastructure and ad systems.
Mother died
Koum's mother died after a long battle with cancer; Koum credits colleagues with personal support.
Applied to Facebook (rejected)
Both Koum and Acton applied to work at Facebook and were rejected (after leaving Yahoo!).
Left Yahoo! (took year off)
Koum and Brian Acton left Yahoo! in September 2007 and took a year off to travel (South America) and decompress.
Bought an iPhone — idea sparked
Koum bought an iPhone and realized the App Store could spawn new apps; began discussing an app idea with friends.
User milestone — WhatsApp 2.0 reached ~250,000 active users
After the messaging component was added, active users swelled to roughly a quarter million.
Incorporated WhatsApp Inc.
On his 33rd birthday (Feb 24, 2009) Koum incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California.
WhatsApp first public launch (early releases)
Early releases of WhatsApp went live (initially focused on statuses); uptake slow at first.
Apple adds push notifications — WhatsApp pivots
After Apple enabled push notifications (June 2009), Koum modified WhatsApp to ping users — product became a true messenger.
Seed funding secured ($250,000)
Brian Acton brought in about $250,000 in seed funding from ex‑Yahoo colleagues; Acton was granted cofounder status.
Brian Acton officially joins WhatsApp
Acton joined WhatsApp as co‑founder and operator after seed funding; Koum and Acton worked intensely on product growth.
Photos support added; paid pricing experiments
WhatsApp updated to send photos (Dec 2009) and experimented with being paid ($1) to control growth.
Early revenue and running costs
By early 2010 WhatsApp was making roughly $5,000/month revenue; SMS verification costs were a notable expense.
Sequoia Capital investment — $8 million
WhatsApp accepted an $8 million investment from Sequoia Capital (first large VC round).
Reached top 20 U.S. App Store rank
By early 2011 WhatsApp ranked in the top 20 of all iPhone apps in the U.S.
User growth — ~200 million active users (circa Feb 2013)
WhatsApp had scaled massively; reporting around 200M active users by early 2013 (and rapid staff growth).
Sequoia secondary funding — $50 million (valuation $1.5B)
Sequoia invested roughly $50M in a secret round valuing WhatsApp at about $1.5 billion.
Joined Facebook board of directors
As part of the acquisition arrangement, Koum joined Facebook's board (later stepped down in 2018).
Major philanthropy — SVCF & FreeBSD donations (~$556M + $1M)
In 2014 Koum donated close to $556 million (Facebook shares) to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and $1M to the FreeBSD Foundation.
Signed acquisition contract at former welfare office (symbolic)
Koum signed the WhatsApp sale papers at the former North County Social Services building — where he once collected food stamps.
Mark Zuckerberg dinner — board invitation
Zuckerberg invited Koum to dinner and proposed Koum join Facebook's board as part of acquisition talks.
Facebook acquires WhatsApp (~$19.3B)
Facebook announced acquisition of WhatsApp for roughly US$19–19.3 billion; deal among largest tech acquisitions.
Public apology for 1996 restraining order
Koum publicly expressed regret and apologized for his behavior that led to the 1996 restraining order.
Sold ~ $2.4 billion of Facebook stock (H1 2016)
Over the first half of 2016 Koum sold more than $2.4B worth of Facebook shares — roughly half his holdings at the time.
FreeBSD Foundation donation — $500,000
Koum donated another $500,000 to the FreeBSD Foundation in 2016.
FreeBSD Foundation donation — $750,000
Koum Family Foundation donated $750,000 to the FreeBSD Foundation (reported 2018).
Announced departure from WhatsApp and Facebook board
Koum announced he was leaving WhatsApp and stepping down from Facebook's board amid disputes over privacy and policy.
‘Rest and vest’ stock vesting discovered — ~$450M
Months after leaving, reports showed Koum remained formally employed and vested $~450M in stock via 'rest and vest' arrangements.
FreeBSD Foundation donation — $500,000
The Koum Family Foundation gave a further $500,000 to the FreeBSD Foundation in 2019.
Donations in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine ($27.6M total)
To support relief efforts during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Koum donated $17M to the European Jewish Association and $10.6M to the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS.
Donated $2 million to AIPAC (Democratic primaries)
Koum donated $2M to AIPAC's campaign efforts during the 2022 Democratic primaries.
Donations to Israeli causes (multiple gifts)
Reported donations include $600,000 to Maccabee Task Force, $6M to Friends of Ir David, and $175,000 to Central Fund of Israel (reported in 2022 coverage).
Forbes net worth estimate — $15.2 billion (Oct 2023)
Forbes estimated Koum's net worth at US$15.2B (October 2023); also ranked 44th on Forbes' list of richest Americans in 2023 with $15.1B.
Acquired Château de la Garoupe (Cap d'Antibes) ~€65M
Purchased Château de la Garoupe on the French Riviera (previously owned by Boris Berezovsky) for about €65 million.
Donated $5M to Super PAC supporting Nikki Haley (2024)
Koum donated $5 million to a Super PAC supporting the presidential campaign of Nikki Haley.
Donated ~$250,000 to committee supporting Daniel Lurie (SF mayoral)
Reported donation of $250,000 to a committee supporting Daniel Lurie's San Francisco mayoral candidacy.
Speaker profile (AAE) updated / public speaking fee range published
AAE Speakers Bureau listing shows Koum available as a keynote with a live event fee estimate of $100k–$200k (profile updated March 19, 2025).
Reported delivery of superyacht 'Moonrise' (~$330M) (media report)
A 2025 media report claimed Koum took delivery of the superyacht Moonrise, valued at about $330M (reporting unconfirmed by primary sources).
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