PROFILE
Jan Koum
CEO, cofounder,WhatsApp Inc.
$16.3B
$108M (0.66%)
Real Time Net Worth
as of 3/29/25
#129 in the world todayReflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day.
Photo by Gabriela Hasbun/The Forbes Collection
From the Editor
- Jan Koum cofounded WhatsApp, now the world's biggest mobile messaging service, in 2009.
- Facebook bought the startup for $22 billion in cash and stock in 2014.
- He resigned as CEO of WhatsApp in April 2018 and announced he would leave Facebook's board as well.
- Koum worked at Yahoo for nearly nine years before leaving to found WhatsApp.
- Now, he invests through his firm Newlands, which holds nearly 10 million Meta shares and building a portfolio of startups.
Wealth History
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Personal Stats
- Age
- 49
- Source of Wealth
- WhatsApp, Self Made
- Residence
- Atherton, California
- Citizenship
- United States
- Marital Status
- Single
- Education
- Drop Out, San Jose State University
Did you know
Koum immigrated to California from Ukraine with his mother at age 16 and swept floors to make ends meet.
Koum signed the deal to sell WhatsApp to Facebook in an abandoned building where he once collected food stamps as a teenager.
In Their Own Words
I want to do one thing and do it well.
Jan Koum
Related People & Companies
More on Forbes
Nov 27, 2023
A Secretive $10 Billion Firm Backed By WhatsApp Billionaire Jan Koum Is Quietly Building A Startup Portfolio
Led by former Sequoia partner Michael Abramson, two-year-old Newlands already holds billions in equities like Alphabet, Amazon and Meta. But no one wants to talk.
Sep 28, 2020
For $125 Million, Jeffrey Katzenberg Sells To What’sApp Cofounder Jan Koum
A house quietly traded hands in an off-market deal between Jeffrey Katzenberg and Jan Koum, cofounder of the messaging platform WhatsApp.
Dec 23, 2019
Best Stories Of The Decade: “The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum Built WhatsApp Into Facebook’s New $19 Billion Baby”
We're republishing our finest work from the past decade, including this tale of how billionaire Jan Koum founded WhatsApp. It’s arguably the greatest rags-to-riches saga in American history, told hours after he sold his company to Facebook.
Aug 28, 2019
WhatsApp Cofounder Jan Koum Reportedly Buys $100M Malibu Estate From NBC Exec Ron Meyer
Another $100 million sale for Los Angeles. This time between an NBC executive and a tech billionaire.
Apr 30, 2018
WhatsApp Billionaire Cofounder Jan Koum Plans To Leave Facebook
According to The Washington Post, Koum is leaving due to disagreements over Facebook’s future plans for WhatsApp user data. A spokesman for Koum did not reply to a request for comment.
Nov 23, 2016
Jan Koum Has Reduced His Facebook Stake By More Than Half Since WhatsApp Was Acquired
WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum sold $14.7 million in Facebook stock in the past week -- the latest in a long string of sales that has dramatically reduced his ownership of Facebook stock.
Sep 23, 2016
WhatsApp Founder Jan Koum Sells Another $125 Million In Facebook Stock
The billionaire has been steadily unloading his Facebook stock.
May 3, 2016
WhatsApp Founder Slams Brazil Shut-Down, Says We 'Won't Compromise User Security'
Ukraine-born Jan Koum says WhatsApp has “repeatedly” told a Brazilian court that it doesn’t have the data it wants, as millions are blocked for a second time.
Dec 23, 2014
[VIDEO] FORBES Most Viral Stories of 2014
Here are just a few (of the many) viral stories that appeared on Forbes this year. Did your favorite story make the list? Let us know in the comments. January The Inside Story Of Snapchat: The World's Hottest App Or A $3 Billion Disappearing Act? February Exclusive: The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum [...]
Oct 6, 2014
Facebook Closes $19 Billion WhatsApp Deal
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum now gets a seat on the Facebook board and will match Zuckerberg’s $1 salary.
Mar 17, 2014
WhatsApp Founder Defends His Commitment To Privacy After $19B Facebook Deal
Jan Koum responds to ‘inaccurate and careless’ criticisms of how the messaging app might continue to handles user data, after Facebook agreed to buy it for $19 billion last month.
Mar 3, 2014
Billionaires 2014: Record Number of Newcomers Includes Sheryl Sandberg, Jan Koum, Michael Kors
Say WhatsApp to a record number of new billionaires, including big names from Silicon Valley to Nigeria
Feb 22, 2014
Best Use Of Airline Miles Ever: Clinching $19 Billion Tech Deal
WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum is about to become very rich, but that doesn't stop him from using airline miles to pay for tickets -- or invoking the risk of a canceled ticket to speed up talks on a $19 billion tech deal.
Feb 19, 2014
Exclusive: The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum Built WhatsApp Into Facebook's New $19 Billion Baby
Click here for our magazine cover story on the Facebook-WhatsApp Megadeal: The Courtship, The Secret Meetings, The $19 Billion Poker Game Jan Koum picked a meaningful spot to sign the $19 billion deal to sell his company WhatsApp to Facebook earlier today. Koum, cofounder Brian Acton and venture capitalist Jim Goetz of [...]
Feb 19, 2014
WhatsApp Founders Become Billionaires In $19 Billion Facebook Deal
WhatsApp cofounders Jan Koum and Brian Acton are Silicon Valley's newest billionaires thanks to a $19 billion deal with Facebook.
Dec 3, 2012
Why Selling WhatsApp To Facebook Would Be The Biggest Mistake Of Jan Koum's And Brian Acton's Lives
There are strong rumors that WhatsApp founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, are thinking of selling out to Facebook. Here are 9 reasons why they shouldn't and play for the long haul as independent.
