Jack Dorsey is a philanthropist and technology entrepreneur with a net worth of $12 billion as of 2022. He is one of the four entrepreneurs that founded Twitter. However, in November 2021, Dorsey retired as the chief executive officer of the company. But even after this, Jack Dorsey still counts as one of the few billionaires worldwide.
Early Life
As the son of Tim and Marcia Dorsey, Jack was born and raised in St. Louis in the state of Missouri. His birthdate is November 19, 1976. He is of part Italian and part Irish descent.
Dorsey used to work as a model on occasion when he was younger. He became interested in dispatch routing when he was 14 years old. Taxicab firms still utilize some open-source applications he produced in dispatch logistics.
He attended the University of Missouri-Rolla for more than two years before going to New York University in 1997 and dropping out two years later, a semester short of graduation. While at NYU, he took the initiative that would eventually become Twitter.
Founding Twitter
He came up with the idea for a real-time internet status and short message communication system in July 2000. It was partly influenced by AOL Instant Messenger and LiveJournal.
A Twitter prototype was established in roughly two weeks by Dorsey and Biz Stone, who determined that SMS text was the best option for the status-messaging premise. This would later get the attention of the two other founders of the startup, Evan Williams and Noah Glass.
Twitter was steadily gaining success. Dorsey was the CEO from 2006 to 2008. He was apparently removed because he took time off from work to pursue other interests, like fashion design and yoga. He claimed the role again in 2015, and in 2021, he stepped down on his own accord.
Why He Left Twitter
The truth is, Dorsey did not leave Twitter. He is still around as one of the board of directors on Twitter. An estimated $850 million stake in the company is still in his hands. However, his term is expected to expire in May 2022. He just left his role as CEO to focus more on Bitcoin.
Back in 2009, Dorsey co-founded and became the head of Square, a mobile payments company that provides credit card processing devices and platforms. It was launched in 2010 and one of the company’s most famous developments is Cash App.
As the reigning CEO, Dorsey rebranded the platform’s name to Block, Inc. on December 1, 2021. This renaming is reportedly influenced by Jack’s interest in blockchain technology.
Personal Life
Unlike his business career, not much is known about the personal life of Jack Dorsey. But as for his love life, it is known that he had an on-and-off relationship with Kate Greer, a blogger, artist, and fellow entrepreneur. Sadly, the two are no longer together.
Bitcoin
Jack is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin and believes the cryptocurrency will eventually replace the US dollar. His company Block, Inc currently owns 8,027 Bitcoin on their balance sheet, worth approximately $296 million. Although he’s a big fan of Bitcoin he has no interest in altcoins and despises the hype around Web3.