Reed Hastings
Age: 50
Estimated Net Worth: $150 million
The Moneymaker: Netflix
Background: Reed Hastings is the powerhouse behind Netflix, which single-handedly changed the way the world watches TV and movies. Hastings grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts and loved to climb and canoe; this adventurous spirit led him to join the Peace Corps, teaching math in Swaziland after graduating from Bowdoin College. Upon his return to the United States, Hastings earned a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and went on to found Netflix in 1997. Before his foray into the world of streaming movies and television shows online, Hastings was CEO of Pure Atria Software, which was sold for $750 million in 1997.
Notable Accomplishments: Hastings has served as the CEO of Netflix since September 1998 and the Chairman of the Board since its inception. He has held the number one spot on Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year” list and expanded Netflix into an international company and has changed the media game by streaming movies and television shows over the Internet. Today Netflix has more than 23 million members in the United States and Canada and is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for movies and television shows.
Current position: Chairman of the Board of Netflix, President and Chief Executive Officer of Netflix, on the Board of Directors of Facebook, Director of Microsoft Corporation.
Greg Tseng
Age: 31
Estimated Net Worth: $45 million
The Moneymaker: Tagged
Background: The former nanotechnology researcher founded Tagged, a social networking site geared towards meeting new people through games and shared interests in 2004. Greg Tseng holds an A.B. in Chemistry and Physics and Mathematics from Harvard University, where he served as a Director of the Harvard Entrepreneurs Club (HEC) from 1998-2000 and co-authored The Harvard Entrepreneurs Club Guide to Starting Your Own Business (Wiley, 1999). Greg is presently on leave from Stanford University, where he is pursuing the Ph.D. in Physics on a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
Notable Accomplishments: As CEO since inception, he has been a driving force in creating Tagged with co-founder and long-time friend, Johann Schleier-Smith. Tseng also co-founded Avivon Inc., which introduced a textbook comparison-shopping to the Harvard campus during the fall semester of 1999, and served as COO of Limespot.com LLC, a leading network of over 100 local college portals.
Current position: Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Tagged.
Charlie Cheever
Age: 29
Estimated Net Worth: As estimated $10 million, although stays mum when it comes to numbers.
The Moneymaker: Quora
Background: Another Facebook alum, Cheever met fellow co-founder of Quora
Adam D’Angelo while working as an engineer and manager at Facebook, where he oversaw the creation of Facebook Connect and the Facebook Platform.
After graduating from Harvard University with a Bachelors of Art degree in Computer Science, Cheever worked as a Software Development Engineer at Amazon, then went on to Facebook, then to found Quora.
Notable Accomplishments: Unlike websites like Yahoo Answers and Answers.com, what sets Quora apart from its competitors is the caliber of its contributors. For example, Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings answered the question of how much Netflix spends a year on postage—between $500 million and $600 million. His aim is to mine knowledge that isn’t already online and put it in the highly social context.
Current position: Co-founder of Quora.
