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What is David Cheriton’s Net Worth?
David Cheriton, a Canadian computer scientist, professor, and entrepreneur, has an estimated net worth of $15 billion. The primary source of his wealth comes from his early investment in Google. In 1998, he and fellow investor Andy Bechtolsheim each wrote a $100,000 check to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, becoming the first investors in what would become one of the world’s most valuable companies. This initial investment proved to be incredibly lucrative, forming the foundation of Cheriton’s vast wealth.
Over the years, Cheriton’s net worth has fluctuated with Google’s stock price. At various points in history, his wealth has exceeded $10 billion, placing him among the top 200 richest people worldwide. It’s worth noting that Cheriton’s net worth has seen significant growth in recent years. In 2023, his net worth was reported at $9 billion, meaning he has experienced an impressive increase of $5.51 billion in just one year.
Despite his enormous wealth, Cheriton is known for maintaining a relatively frugal lifestyle. He continues to be actively involved in academia as a professor at Stanford University, where he has taught for decades.
Cheriton has also been involved in several successful tech ventures, including co-founding Arista Networks, which went public in 2014 and now has a market cap of around $30 billion.
Here’s the breakdown of David Cheriton’s net worth:
Name: | David Cheriton |
Net Worth: | $15 Billion |
Date of Birth: | March 29, 1951 |
Profession: | Professor, investor |
If you’re curious about how we estimate a celebrity’s net worth, you can check out our methodology here.
Early Life
David Ross Cheriton was born on March 29, 1951, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Both of his parents were engineers, which likely influenced his future career path. Cheriton initially wanted to pursue music and applied to study it at the University of Alberta.
However, after being rejected by the music department, he switched his focus to mathematics. He started his studies at the University of Alberta, then transferred to the University of British Columbia, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1973.
Teaching Career
After completing his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Waterloo in 1978, Cheriton spent three years as an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. In 1981, he joined Stanford University as a professor of computer science.
Throughout his career, Cheriton has been actively involved in teaching and research, focusing on distributed computing and computer networking. Despite his enormous wealth, he continues to be an active professor at Stanford, now holding the position of professor emeritus.
Granite Systems
In 1995, Cheriton co-founded Granite Systems with Andy Bechtolsheim, a former student he had taught at Stanford. The company developed gigabit Ethernet products and caught the attention of Cisco Systems.
Just one year after its founding, Cisco acquired Granite Systems for $220 million. As a 10% owner of the company, Cheriton received a pre-tax payout of $22 million, which marked his first significant financial success.
Google Investment
In 1998, two Stanford Ph.D. students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, approached Cheriton with their idea for a new internet search technology. Initially skeptical, Cheriton eventually decided to invest $100,000 in their startup, which became Google. This investment proved to be incredibly lucrative.
As Google grew into one of the world’s most valuable companies, Cheriton’s initial investment multiplied exponentially, contributing significantly to his current net worth of approximately $10 billion.
Other Investments and Arista
Beyond Google, Cheriton has been involved in several other successful tech ventures. He was an early investor in VMware before it was acquired by EMC for $625 million in 2004.
In 2001, he co-founded Kealia with Andy Bechtolsheim, which was later acquired by Sun Microsystems.
In 2004, Cheriton and Bechtolsheim co-founded Arista Networks, a network technology company. Arista went public in 2014 and currently has a market cap of around $30 billion.
Cheriton’s stake in Arista has contributed significantly to his wealth, with his shares worth approximately $2.4 billion as of recent SEC filings.
Personal Life
Despite his immense wealth, Cheriton is known for maintaining a relatively frugal lifestyle. He still lives in the same Palo Alto home he’s owned for over 40 years and drives a modest car – a 2012 Honda Odyssey, which he considers a splurge compared to his previous 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon.
Cheriton was married to Iris Fraser from 1980 to 1994, and they have four children together.
He has made significant philanthropic contributions, including substantial donations to the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia, and Stanford University to support computer science education and research.
Ashley Roberts is the founder of Real-Time Billionaires List. She founded this platform because she likes to know how much celebrities are actually making. She is always curious why these people can make much more money than the ordinary person.
With a Bachelor’s degree in finance, she is skilled at financial analysis and understands numbers related to wealth. Most of the articles on this site are edited by herself before publishing.
