Sergey Brin
Born 1973 · Age 52
Co‑founder of Google and former president of Alphabet Inc.; computer scientist, investor and philanthropist focused on search, AI and biomedical research.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Moscow, Soviet Union
Sergey Mikhailovich Brin born to Mikhail and Eugenia Brin in Moscow.
Family applies for Soviet exit visas
The Brin family formally applied for exit visas from the USSR (Sept 1978); father later fired as consequence.
Exit visas granted
The Brin family was granted official exit visas from the Soviet Union.
Arrived in the United States
Brin family arrived in the U.S.; father Michael secured a teaching position at University of Maryland with outside help.
Graduated Eleanor Roosevelt High School
Completed high school before attending University of Maryland.
Enrolled at University of Maryland
Began undergraduate studies in computer science and mathematics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Received B.S. from University of Maryland (honors)
Graduated with honors in computer science and high honors in mathematics (completed in three years).
Internship at Wolfram Research
Interned at Wolfram Research, the makers of Mathematica.
Entered Stanford University graduate program
Enrolled in Stanford's computer science graduate program on a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship (PhD studies begun).
Received M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford
Completed a master's degree in computer science at Stanford (later took leave from PhD program).
Met Larry Page at Stanford orientation
Met Larry Page during Stanford orientation; they became collaborators and co-researchers in data mining and web search.
BackRub / early search available on Stanford website
Initial version of their web-crawler/search engine (BackRub) made available on Stanford's website; early PageRank research in use.
Registered google.com domain
Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered the domain google.com (derived from 'googol').
Search volume milestone—~10,000 searches/day
By mid‑1998 Google was processing roughly 10,000 searches per day, prompting founders to consider commercialization.
Seed check from Andy Bechtolsheim
Andy Bechtolsheim wrote an early seed check for Google (commonly reported as $100,000), enabling the company to open a bank account and accept funding.
Raised early angel/friends & family funding (~$1M)
By mid/late 1998 Page and Brin had raised roughly $1 million from family, friends and early investors to grow Google.
Incorporated Google
Page and Brin incorporated Google Inc. and moved servers to Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park to run the company.
Relocated to Mountain View offices (early Googleplex)
After rapid growth Google leased a complex of buildings in Mountain View (later purchased and known as Googleplex).
Venture capital funding round (~$25M)
Google received a large venture capital infusion (commonly reported as $25 million in 1999) as it expanded beyond Stanford.
Website and product awards for Google (early accolades)
Google won early awards including Webby (2000), Search Engine Watch awards (2001) and PC Magazine recognition (1998–1999 era).
Indexed one billion URLs
Google reached the milestone of indexing 1 billion URLs (June 2000), making it the most comprehensive web index at that time.
Started selling AdWords (text‑based ads)
Google began selling text search ads tied to keywords, a major monetization milestone that would become the company's primary revenue stream.
Hired Eric Schmidt as CEO
Google recruited industry executive Eric Schmidt to be CEO and board chair; Page and Brin retained key leadership roles.
Named to MIT Technology Review TR100
Brin (with Page) was named among the top 100 innovators under 35 in the TR100 list.
Received honorary MBAs from IE Business School
Brin and Page received honorary MBA degrees from IE Business School in recognition of their entrepreneurial contributions.
Reportedly became a multibillionaire after IPO
Following the 2004 IPO, Page and Brin became multibillionaires; numerous reports cite immediate large personal gains for founders.
Received Marconi Prize and Golden Plate Award (with Page)
Brin and Page were awarded the Marconi Prize (elected Fellows of Marconi Foundation) and the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.
Google initial public offering (IPO)
Google went public in August 2004; sources report the IPO raised ~$1.67 billion for the company and created a large market cap (~$23B).
Google acquires YouTube for stock
Google purchased user‑video site YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock (2006), expanding into online video.
Named a Great Immigrant by Carnegie Corporation
Brin was one of the inaugural recipients of the Great Immigrants Award by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Google acquires DoubleClick
Google acquired DoubleClick in 2007 for approximately $3.1 billion to bolster display advertising capabilities.
Married Anne Wojcicki
Sergey Brin married Anne Wojcicki (biotech entrepreneur) in the Bahamas (May 2007).
Started paying $1.3M/year to house private jets at Moffett Field
Brin and Page pay about $1.3M annually to house their aircraft and others at Moffett Federal Airfield (reported 2007).
Invested $4.5M in Space Adventures
Brin invested $4.5 million in Space Adventures, a space tourism company (reported June 2008).
Donated to University of Maryland School of Medicine (mother's care)
Following his mother's Parkinson's diagnosis, Brin donated to UMD School of Medicine to support her care and research.
Appearance — cameo in film 'The Internship' (filmed/release)
Brin appeared as himself in the 2013 film 'The Internship' (cameo).
Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Inducted into the NAE for leadership in rapid indexing and retrieval of relevant web information.
Named among the world's most powerful people (Forbes)
Forbes named Brin and Page the fifth most powerful people in the world in November 2009.
Google acquires Motorola Mobility
Google acquired Motorola Mobility for approximately $12.5 billion (2011); later Motorola was sold while Google retained patents.
Launched Google Brain project (AI research)
Google initiated the Google Brain Project to develop large-scale neural networks and deep learning capabilities.
Appointed Director of Special Projects at Google
Brin stepped away from president of technology duties and became director of special projects (reported 2011).
Separated from Anne Wojcicki (affair reported)
It was announced in August 2013 that Brin and Anne Wojcicki were living separately after Brin's extramarital affair.
Child births with Anne Wojcicki (two children)
Brin and Anne Wojcicki had a son in late 2008 and a daughter in late 2011 (family milestones announced publicly).
Public introduction of Google Glass (Explorer/Prototype)
Google introduced Google Glass prototypes to developers and press in 2013; later pulled for further experimentation after 2015.
Decided to pursue Lighter‑Than‑Air (LTA) airship project
After visiting Ames Research Center, Brin decided to pursue development of modern electric airships (LTA project genesis reported 2014).
Began working on LTA airship project (active development 2017+)
Although decided in 2014, Brin began active work on LTA Research & Exploration around 2017 and supported its subsequent testing.
Divorce from Anne Wojcicki finalized
Brin and Anne Wojcicki finalized their divorce in June 2015.
Created Alphabet Inc.; became President of Alphabet
Google restructured under new parent company Alphabet; Sergey Brin became president of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai CEO of Google.
Google reaches global scale milestones (2016 snapshot)
By 2016 Google had 70 offices in 40+ countries, extensive global data centers and billions of daily search requests (company growth milestone).
Became a parent (daughter with Nicole Shanahan)
Brin and Nicole Shanahan had a daughter born in late 2018.
Married Nicole Shanahan
Sergey Brin married legal‑tech founder Nicole Shanahan on November 7, 2018.
Stepped down as President of Alphabet (with Larry Page stepping down as CEO)
Brin and Page announced they were stepping down from executive roles at Alphabet but would remain on the board and as controlling shareholders.
Started Catalyst4, Inc. (reported)
Sources report Brin started the non‑profit Catalyst4 to support neurological research and climate efforts (timeline reported 2021).
Separated from Nicole Shanahan
Brin and Nicole Shanahan separated on December 15, 2021; Brin filed for divorce Jan 4, 2022.
Donated >$1B to Parkinson's research (reported)
By December 2022 Forbes reported Brin had quietly donated over $1 billion to Parkinson's disease research (motivated by family history and his mother's diagnosis).
LTA (airship) test program scheduled
LTA Research (Brin‑backed) scheduled full‑scale tests over Silicon Valley; project reported to have active flight testing plans in 2022.
Public subpoena/ legal inquiries (Epstein/JPMorgan reporting)
Brin was among high‑profile individuals subpoenaed in relation to a JPMorgan matter (reported 2023 coverage of subpoenas from 2022).
Filed first code request in years (returned to active product work)
After being largely absent from day‑to‑day operations, Brin filed a code request at Google (reported Jan 24, 2023), signaling renewed engineering involvement.
Reported deeper involvement in AI development (Gemini)
Reports in 2023 said Brin had resumed active participation at Google, engaging with AI teams and intervening on hiring and strategy for Gemini to compete with OpenAI.
LTA Pathfinder 1 receives flight‑test clearance
In Oct 2023 LTA's 124‑meter flagship, Pathfinder 1, received clearance for flight testing (largest airship since Hindenburg to get such clearance over local airspace).
Came out of retirement to lead Alphabet (reported)
In December 2023 Brin reportedly emerged from retirement to take a leading role at Alphabet after the launch of ChatGPT and intensified AI competition.
Ranked 7th on Bloomberg wealth index (reported)
In 2024 Bloomberg reported Brin ranking seventh with an estimated net worth reported at ~$151 billion (sources vary by date).
Bloomberg estimate: $135B (September 2024 snapshot)
A Bloomberg snapshot in September 2024 estimated Brin's net worth at about $135 billion (wealth estimates fluctuate).
Announced new $700M charitable gift (reported)
Forbes reported (Feb 6, 2025) Brin made a new $700 million charitable gift (sliver of Alphabet shares) to entities funding healthcare research and treatment.
Net worth estimates (June 2025)
As of June 2025 Bloomberg estimated Brin's net worth at $149B and Forbes at $141.5B; he ranked among the world's richest people.
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