Vladimir Tenev is an entrepreneur known for co-founding and being the CEO of the financial services company Robinhood. His corporation is recognized for being the first to offer commission-free stocks, crypto transactions, and exchange-traded funds through a mobile app. As of 2023, Vlad Tenev has an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
Early Life
Tenev was born in Varna, Bulgaria, on February 13, 1987. When he turned five, his family moved to Washington DC because his mother and father decided to work for the World Bank.
His parents only enrolled him in private institutions. Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was where Vladimir attended high school.
Stanford University accepted him for college. There, he studied for a math degree and met his future business partner Baiju Bhatt. The two became best friends as they had so much in common. Vlad was pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics at UCLA but left to work with Baiju.
Business Career
Bhatt and Tenev founded Celeris, a high-frequency trading application startup, in 2010. The following year, the duo abandoned it to start Chronos Research, which provided low-latency technology to other trading companies and institutions.
The two established the online trading service Robinhood Markets, Inc. in 2013. Their first customers were fund managers and bankers, but they pondered how well their new business would do if they provided commission-free stock trading via a mobile app.
In 2015, Robinhood made its app available to the general market. Vlad and Baiju became billionaires when a funding round in 2018 raised their firm’s worth to $6 billion. They initially shared the position of CEO, but in 2020, Tenev became the exclusive CEO.
GameStop Short Squeeze
Perhaps the most major event that happened to Robinhood was during the GameStop short squeeze. Tenev justified Robinhood’s move to prohibit consumers from purchasing stock or options in a number of different securities, especially GameStop.
Vladimir spoke before the US House Committee on Financial Services in February 2021 about his company’s role in the sudden market occurrence. He stated that the decision to suspend securities was prompted by the necessity to fulfill federal clearinghouse deposit demands.
He was lambasted by members of both major American political parties for his inability to respond to a number of queries. During the squeeze, Tenev denied a variety of claims accusing Robinhood of conspiring with hedge funds.
Net Worth and Salary
The board of directors of Robinhood reduced the basic wages of its founding partners, Baiju Bhatt and Vlad Tenev, from $400,000 to $34,248 in April 2021. The board did so in order to transfer their compensation even further to equity rewards.
Additional 2.77 million shares, worth around $105 million, were available to Vlad and Baiju. Tenev reportedly owns a 10.5% interest in Robinhood. This accounts a lot for his $1 billion fortune.
Personal Life
Vlad is married to a fellow business mogul named Celina A. Tenev. She is best known for co-founding Call9, an emergency medical service. The couple is said to have a daughter together.
