As one of the most influential dealmakers in technology, Bill Gurley is best known for being an early investor in the ride-hailing company Uber. Gurley is a venture capitalist and is regularly listed on the “Forbes Midas List” for his ability to find great companies early. As of 2023, Bill Gurley has a net worth of $8 billion.
Early Life
Hailing from Dickinson, Texas, John William Gurley was born on May 10, 1966. Growing up, he always had a passion for technology but also loved playing sports, specifically basketball.
He played for the basketball team at the University of Florida and graduated in 1989 with a computer engineering degree. Then, he went to the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. There, Bill earned an MBA in 1993. Before becoming an investor, he worked as an engineer for Advanced Micro Devices. Later on, he was hired as a design engineer for Compaq.
Analyst Career
With his background in tech, Gurley became a partner at venture capital firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Next, he spent three years at CS First Boston and became one of the leading technology analysts on Wall Street.
His research skills gave him widespread recognition in the financial industry and helped Bill Gurley join the Institutional Investor All-America Research Team in 1995.
Two years later, he was the lead analyst for Amazon’s IPO, which eventually became the biggest e-commerce company in the world. He also handled IPOs for other tech giants like Microsoft, and Dell throughout his career.
Investing Career
After four years on Wall Street, he was named general partner of Benchmark Capital. With the investment firm, he joined the board of directors of companies such as Grubhub, Clicker.com, and Vudu. Many of these startups were later acquired by larger companies.
During the 2008 market crash, he further gained critical acclaim for his advice to CEOs from his portfolio companies, urging them to reduce spending and wait for opportunity after the crash. He also shares advice through his blog AbovetheCrowd.com. His greatest investment with Benchmark came a year later.
Bill invested around $12 million into the ride-sharing company, years before they went public. Uber soon skyrocketed, becoming one of the hottest startups in San Francisco. Bill Gurley was Uber’s most active board member before leaving in 2017.
Net Worth and Earnings
Uber is undoubtedly Bill’s biggest winner. Although it isn’t known how much his net worth was before working with the startup, it is likely that he wasn’t a billionaire then. Apart from physical assets, Bill is also a known investor in cryptocurrency and is an advocate for Ethereum. He only became interested in crypto in 2021 and is just a small part of his $8 billion fortune.
Personal Life
Bill is married to Amy Gurley, who is also a general partner in Benchmark Capital. The business couple are currently raising three children together and live in Atherton, California.
