
Quick Facts of
- First NameSean
- Last NameParker
- Net Worth$2.7 billion
Famous as the co-founder of the music-sharing software Napster (now shutdown, 1999- 2000), Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur, investor & philanthropist. Formerly, a President of Facebook (2004- 2006), Parker since June 2006 is serving as the chairman/founder of Causes on Facebook.
Currently, an investor on Spotify, Sean is the founder & chairman of Airtime & serves as executive chairman of Brigade (2014- Present, also its co-founder).
With years of experience in business ventures, the Virginia-born entrepreneur has bagged billions of dollars fortune.
Founder Of ‘Napster’ & ‘Plaxo’: Sean Parker’s Net Worth In 2020?
According to Forbes, 40-year-old Parker has a net worth of $2.7 billion as of March 11, 2020, which is 0.03% ($869,000) rise from the previous trading day.
Meanwhile, he is #319 among Forbes 400 2019 & #877 in the list of Billionaires 2019.
Reportedly, Sean ranked #722 in the Forbes 2016 list of billionaires with a fortune of $2.4 billion.
The Chantilly High School attendant while in high school won Virginia state computer science fair & worked for the CIA; he reportedly earned $80,000 a year through projects while as a student.
By the age of 19, Sean founded Napster Inc., a file sharing Internet music-focused software, in 1999 to 2000. Later in 2001, the American entrepreneur founded Plaxo Inc. & became its President until April 2004.
Net Worth Over The Years:
- March 2015– $2.5 billion
- March 2016– $2.4 billion
- March 2017– $2.7 billion
- March 2018– $2.6 billion
- March 2019– $2.6 billion
- October 2019– $2.7 billion
Business Venture & Investments: What Is Sean Doing Currently?
Formerly an analyst at UUNET (1996- 1998), Sean Parker initially had a career in Napster Inc. (founder, May 1999- October 2000) and Plaxo Inc. (founder May 2001- April 2005).
Hejoined Facebook in mid-2004 as its President until January 2006, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.
Since June 2006, Sean is serving as founder/chairman of Causes of Facebook & is managing partner with Founder Found (January 2006- Present); the latter provide investment aid to seed companies & has $500 million in aggregate capital.
Moreover, in 2009, Parker became Board Member of Spotify, a Sweden based music streaming service & reportedly invested $15 million in 2010.
With Shawn Fanning, an American entrepreneur & computer programmer, Sean Parker co-founded live video website Airtime in 2010 & is its chairman.
In 2014, the American entrepreneur along with Marc Benioff, and Ron Conway gave $9.5 million seed fund for Brigade Media, a civic technology platform based in San Francisco.
Currently, Sean is the executive chairman of Brigade.
Rise With Launch Of ‘Napster’: Why Napster Shutdown?
With Shawn Fanning, Parker launched a free music file-sharing service Napster on June 1, 1999, with initial funding of initial of $50,000 & had tens of millions of users.
However, on December 6, 1999, the entrepreneur was opposed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) & filed a lawsuit against the company that led the company to shut down on July 11, 2001.
Reportedly, the issue settled partially on September 24, 2001, with a $26 million payment to music creators and copyright owners along with an advance against future licensing royalties of $10 million.
Later, Bertelsmann, a German media firm announced to acquire assets of Napster for $85 million on May 17, 2002, but amidst the deal, Napster filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on June 3.
Then on September 3, 2002, the American bankruptcy judge ruled them to liquidate their assets rather than sales to Bertelsmann.
Where Does Sean Parker Live?
Sean Parker divides his time in residences in San Francisco, Los Angeles, & in New York City.
Primarily, Parker with his wife Alexandra Helen Lenas & 2 children lives in a 9-bedroom house called ‘The Brody House’ in Los Angeles. He bought the property in July 2014 for $55 million from Ellen Degeneres.
Reportedly, Ellen & her wife Portia de Rossi purchased the house in early 2014 for $40 million.
In August 2016, Parker bought a house in New York City, New York spread on 6,000 square feet.
Moreover, the entrepreneur paid $16.5 million in another off-market deal for the 6,000-plus square foot townhouse in New York.
His other house namely Bacchus House featuring 6-bedroom in Greenwich Villagewas bought in 2011 for $20 million Italian liquor heir Enrico Cinzano.
Is A Charity Worker: Founded Parker Foundation
In June 2015, Sean launched Parker Foundation, which focuses on 4 areas: Life Sciences, Global Public Health, Civic Engagement, and the Arts, for which he contributed $600 million.
In April 2016, to create Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Parker donated $250 million for its creation.
Reportedly, he pledged $5 million to Stand Up to Cancer in 2012 & $24 million to Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research at Stanford in 2014.
Moreover, Sean Parker granted a donation of $4.5 million to Malaria Elimination Initiative at the University of California San Francisco’s Global Health Group in 2015. Also, he donated $10 million to Sean N. Parker Autoimmune Research Laboratory at UCSF.
The American entrepreneur is on the board for many other non-profit organizations:
- Obama Foundation
- Global Citizen
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Lavish Wedding Cost $12 Million: Wife & Children?
Sean Parker is in a marital relationship with the wife of 6 years, Alexandra Helen Lenas, a singer-songwriter. The duo began dating in for many years & engaged in 2011.
Later, Parker & Alexandra married on June 1, 2013, in a three-day ceremony Big Sur, California, in front of 364 guests. Reportedly, the wedding cost them approximately $12 million.
However, after failing to obtain proper permits for the event, he paid $2.5 million to the California Coastal Commission & even more, created a beach-mapping app for the case settlement.
Together, the couple shares 2 children: daughter Winter Victoria Parker (born on January 6, 2013) and son Zephyr Emerson Parker (December 1, 2014).
Short-Bio:
Sean Parker was born on December 3, 1979, in Herndon, Virginia, the USA. His father Bruce Parker was a U.S. government oceanographer while mother Diane Parker was a TV advertising broker.
He went to Oakton High School & later transferred to Chantilly High School in 1996.
Did you know? At the age of 16, after his IP address was detected while hacking into Fortune 500 company, F.B.I. agents tracked him down & was sentenced to community service.