Kristo Käärmann

Born 1980 · Age 45

Co-founder and CEO of Wise (formerly TransferWise). Estonian-born mathematician/engineer and management consultant who co‑founded TransferWise in 2011 to disrupt cross-border money transfers. Led company through rapid scale, product expansion, rebrand and a direct listing in London.

Total Events

Career Span

44 years

Peak Net Worth

$1,750,000,000

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Life & Career Timeline

1980Age 0

Born in Estonia

Kristo Käärmann was born in Estonia (date reported as 3 August 1980).

8/3/1980Source

Confidence

99%

1988Age 8

Early computing — first home computer (ZX Spectrum)

As a child he gained access to personal computers (ZX Spectrum first) and began coding — an early spark for his interest in tech.

1/1/1988Source

Confidence

50%

1990Age 10

First paid job – planting spruce trees

At age 10 he planted spruce trees for his uncle, a forester — often cited as his first job.

1/1/1990Source

Confidence

90%

1990Age 10

Owned Commodore 2001 and started coding

Owned a Commodore 2001 and wrote his first pieces of code on early home computers.

1/1/1990Source

Confidence

50%

1991Age 11

Estonia regains independence (formative context)

Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union — an event Kristo cites as formative for entrepreneurial environment in his youth.

1/1/1991Source

Confidence

98%

1999Age 19

Launched first business: Investor.ee

At about age 19 he launched Investor.ee, an online investment tracking portal — it wasn't profitable but was popular and marked his entry into entrepreneurship.

1/1/1999Net Worth: $20,000Source

Confidence

90%

2002Age 22

Completed degrees at Tartu University

Completed Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Tartu (Masters reported finished in 2002).

1/1/2002Net Worth: $10,000Source

Confidence

96%

2002Age 22

Joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as consultant

Early professional role at PwC working as a management consultant helping Estonian banks and telecommunications companies manage and utilise data.

1/1/2002Net Worth: $15,000Source

Confidence

90%

2004Age 24

Joined Deloitte (management consultancy role)

Became a management consultant at Deloitte, working on financial systems, data environments and actuarial modelling (including Solvency II related projects).

1/1/2004Net Worth: $30,000Source

Confidence

80%

2007Age 27

Moved to London

Relocated to London for work with Deloitte; London is where he later met co-founder Taavet Hinrikus and where TransferWise was conceived.

1/1/2007Net Worth: $30,000Source

Confidence

95%

2007Age 27

Met Taavet Hinrikus (future co‑founder)

Met Taavet Hinrikus at a party in London; both were experiencing high cross-border transfer costs and discussed solving the problem together.

1/1/2007Net Worth: $30,000Source

Confidence

97%

2010Age 30

Idea formation for TransferWise

By 2010 the pair had developed the concept for TransferWise (later Wise) out of frustration with banks' high fees and poor exchange rates for international transfers.

1/1/2010Net Worth: $80,000Source

Confidence

90%

2011Age 31

Public trust milestone — phone support from day one

From launch the company prioritised customer support (phone number on front page) to build trust for moving money — a strategic milestone.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $150,000Source

Confidence

90%

2011Age 30

Founded TransferWise (later rebranded Wise)

TransferWise was founded by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus in January 2011 with a peer-local-payments model to avoid banks' hidden FX margins.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $100,000Source

Confidence

99%

2011Age 31

Seed round from IA Ventures (~$1.3M)

Raised a seed round (reported as $1.3M) from IA Ventures (NY) and others to scale operations after initial traction.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $200,000Source

Confidence

85%

2011Age 31

Early hires: engineers, operations & customer support

Built the first team (engineers, payment operations and customer support) and established a phone number for customer service from day one.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $210,000Source

Confidence

90%

2011Age 31

Public articulation of mission

Announced mission to 'make the best tool for moving and managing the world's money' and to make international transfers cheaper and faster.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $150,000Source

Confidence

95%

2011Age 31

Early volume milestone: 6–12 months to 800 transactions/week

Within the first 6–12 months after launch TransferWise reported processing roughly 800 transactions per week — early scale indicator.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $150,000Source

Confidence

70%

2011Age 31

Early operational design: peer-local settlement model

TransferWise implemented a local‑settlement model (matching inbound and outbound flows to avoid cross-border FX churn) — core operational invention.

1/1/2011Net Worth: $150,000Source

Confidence

95%

2011Age 30

TechCrunch article and first customer (launch traction)

A write-up (TechCrunch) on launch produced immediate traction — first customer within ~15 minutes; early growth signaled market demand.

1/24/2011Net Worth: $120,000Source

Confidence

90%

2013Age 33

Scale milestone – transaction volume growth

Within months scaled from dozens to hundreds of weekly transactions; continued rapid growth across routes (early scaling phase).

1/1/2013Net Worth: $400,000Source

Confidence

70%

2015Age 35

EY UK's Entrepreneurs of the Year (co‑founder recognition)

Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann named UK's Entrepreneurs of the Year by EY (reported in 2015).

1/1/2015Net Worth: $6,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2015Age 35

Named World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer

Selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers for 2015 in recognition of his impact in fintech.

1/1/2015Net Worth: $6,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2016Age 36

Advertising Standards Authority ruling

ASA ruled in 2016 that TransferWise could not substantiate some advertised savings claims; also faced mixed reception for a provocative ad campaign.

1/1/2016Net Worth: $15,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2016Age 36

Expanded product set beyond transfers (multi‑currency accounts & debit cards)

Company expanded services to include multi‑currency accounts (Borderless/Wise Account) and debit cards to support cross-border banking needs.

1/1/2016Net Worth: $25,000,000Source

Confidence

80%

2017Age 37

Kristo Käärmann named CEO of TransferWise

Käärmann took over the chief executive role in 2017; previously Taavet Hinrikus had been CEO.

1/1/2017Net Worth: $120,000,000Source

Confidence

95%

2017Age 37

Company profitable since 2017 (profitability milestone)

TransferWise reported it had been profitable since 2017 — a key milestone for a high-growth fintech.

1/1/2017Net Worth: $100,000,000Source

Confidence

85%

2018Age 38

Named Estonia's richest man (reported)

By 2018 media reported Käärmann as Estonia’s richest man (ahead of co‑founder Hinrikus in some lists) reflecting large private stake value.

1/1/2018Net Worth: $300,000,000Source

Confidence

70%

2019Age 39

Reported fundraising totals and notable investors

Company reported significant venture backing from Index, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Valar, IA Ventures, Kima, IVP, Sapphire, Mosaic and signalled hundreds of millions raised to date.

1/1/2019Net Worth: $420,000,000Source

Confidence

75%

2019Age 39

Secondary sale ($290M) to allow early employees/investors to cash out

Press reported a $290M all‑secondary sale (May 2019) that allowed founders and early employees to sell shares while valuing the business at $3.5B.

1/1/2019Net Worth: $420,000,000Source

Confidence

90%

2019Age 38

All-secondary share sale valuing TransferWise at $3.5B

May 2019 secondary transaction allowed early staff/investors to cash out; transaction valued TransferWise at about $3.5 billion.

5/22/2019Net Worth: $400,000,000Source

Confidence

88%

2020Age 40

Private fundraising valued TransferWise at ~$5B (reported)

A private fundraising round (reported by press in 2020) valued the business at roughly $5 billion with new investors including Vulcan Capital and long‑term backers.

1/1/2020Net Worth: $800,000,000Source

Confidence

72%

2021Age 40

Company scale at listing: customers, employees, volume

Ahead of listing Wise reported ~10 million customers, ~2,200 current/former staff (Wisers) and said it moved ~£5 billion per month.