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Brian Acton

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Brian Acton
Born (1972-02-17) February 17, 1972 (age 52)
Michigan, U.S.
EducationStanford University (BCS)
Occupations
Years active1992–present
Known for
Title
SpouseTegan Acton
Websitesignalfoundation.org

Brian Acton (born February 17, 1972) is an American business executive and computer programmer serving as the executive chairperson of Signal Technology Foundation, which he co-founded with Moxie Marlinspike in 2018.[1][2] Acton also serves as interim chief executive officer (CEO) of Signal Messenger LLC.[3]

He was formerly employed at Yahoo!. In 2009, Jan Koum and Acton co-founded WhatsApp,[4] a mobile messaging application which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for US$19 billion. Acton left WhatsApp in September 2017 to start the Signal Foundation.[5] According to Forbes (2020), Acton is the 836th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $2.5 billion.[4]

Early life and education

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Acton grew up in Michigan,[6] later moving to Central Florida, where he graduated from Lake Howell High School.[7] Acton received a full scholarship to study engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, but left after a year to study at Stanford.[7] He graduated from Stanford University in 1994 with a degree in computer science.[8]

Career

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In 1992, Acton became a systems administrator for Rockwell International, before becoming a product tester at Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems. In 1996, he joined Yahoo Inc.[9]

Yahoo!

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Two years after Acton joined Yahoo, Jan Koum was hired as an infrastructure engineer shortly after he met Acton while working at Ernst & Young as a security tester.[10] Over the next nine years, the two worked together at Yahoo. Acton lost millions in the dot-com bubble of 2000. In September 2007, Koum and Acton left Yahoo! and took a year off, traveling around South America. They both tried to get jobs at Facebook, but weren't hired.

WhatsApp

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Main article: WhatsApp

In January 2009, Koum bought an iPhone and realized that the then seven-month-old App Store was about to spawn a whole new industry of apps. He visited his friend Alex Fishman and talked about developing an app.[10] Koum almost immediately chose the name WhatsApp because it sounded like "what's up", and a week later on his birthday, Feb. 24, 2009, he incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California.[10]

In 2014, Koum and Acton sold WhatsApp to Facebook for approximately US$19 billion in cash and stock.[8] Forbes estimated that Acton held over 20% stake in the company, making his net worth around $3.8 billion.[11]

In 2016, Acton led a funding round for Trak N Tell and raised $3.5 million along with two other investors.[12][13]

In September 2017, Acton left WhatsApp.[14] Acton told Forbes that he left over a dispute with Facebook regarding monetization of WhatsApp, and voluntarily left $850 million in unvested options on the table by leaving a few months before vesting was completed.[15][16] He also said that he was coached by Facebook executives to mislead European regulators regarding Facebook's intention to merge Facebook and WhatsApp user data.[17]

Signal

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Acton left WhatsApp in September 2017 to start a new foundation, the Signal Foundation, which is dedicated to helping people have access to private communication through an encrypted messaging app.[18][19] Signal is widely used by journalists and human rights activists.[20]

In February 2018, it was announced that Acton was investing $50 million into Signal.[9] This funding was a loan from Acton to the new non-profit Signal Technology Foundation. By the end of 2018, the loan had increased to $105,000,400, due to be repaid on February 28, 2068. The loan is unsecured and carries nil interest.[21]

On March 20, 2018, Forbes reported that Acton had publicly tweeted support for the #DeleteFacebook movement, in a "new level of public backlash".[22] In November 2019, the journalist Steven Levy asked Acton why he decided to make his feelings so public. Acton said he felt that it was time because there was pressure unfolding against Facebook.[23]

Acton is currently a board member of the Signal Foundation.[24]

Other activities

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Philanthropy

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Since 2014, Acton and his wife Tegan started to build a philanthropic network through the foundation Wildcard Giving, with three sister foundations: Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving and Solidarity Giving.[25]

The couple started Sunlight Giving in 2014,[26][27] a family foundation dedicated to supporting the basic services of low-income families with young children ages 0–5.[28] It also provides support for safe spaces and organizations that ensure food security, housing stability, and healthcare access. The foundation supports low-income families with children age five and below living in the San Francisco Bay Area.[29] Sunlight Giving has $470 million in assets. It granted $6.4 million in 2015, $19.2 million in 2016, and $23.6 million in 2017.[29] This private foundation helped to fund Magnify Community, a non-profit organization with the goal of redirecting philanthropists' givings to nonprofits.[30]

Also in 2014, Acton helped establish Acton Family Giving and Solidarity Giving.[31]

In 2019, Forbes reported that Brian Acton and his wife had given more than $1 billion to charitable causes over their lifetimes.[32]

Personal life

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He is married to Tegan Acton[26] and resides in Palo Alto, California.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Marlinspike, Moxie; Acton, Brian (February 21, 2018). "Signal Foundation". Signal.org. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "Statement of Information". businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. August 28, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Marlinspike, Moxie (January 10, 2022). "New Year, New CEO". signal.org. Signal Foundation. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Brian Acton". Forbes. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  5. ^ CNBC (September 13, 2017). "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company". CNBC. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Zuckerberg Bonded With WhatsApp CEO Over Coffee and Dinners
  7. ^ a b Burnett, Richard (February 25, 2015). "Billionaire-to-be Brian Acton got techstart at Lake Howell High". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Wood, Zoe (February 20, 2014). "Facebook turned down WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton for job in 2009". The Guardian. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "WhatsApp Co-Founder Puts $50M Into Signal To Supercharge Encrypted Messaging". WIRED. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Parmy Olson (February 19, 2014). "Exclusive: The Rags-To-Riches Tale Of How Jan Koum Built WhatsApp Into Facebook's New $19 Billion Baby". Forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  11. ^ Mac, Ryan (February 19, 2014). "WhatsApp Founders Become Billionaires In $19 Billion Facebook Deal". Forbes. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  12. ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (July 11, 2016). "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton invests in Trak N Tell". The Economic Times. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Hoffower, Hillary. "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton invested $50 million into the Signal app — here's how he spends his $6.9 billion fortune". Business Insider. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  14. ^ "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton is leaving to start a non-profit". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  15. ^ Lomas, Natasha (September 27, 2018). "WhatsApp founder, Brian Acton, says Facebook used him to get its acquisition past EU regulators". Techcrunch. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  16. ^ Olson, Parmy. "Exclusive: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton Gives The Inside Story On #DeleteFacebook And Why He Left $850 Million Behind". Forbes. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Lomas, Natasha (September 27, 2018). "WhatsApp founder, Brian Acton, says Facebook used him to get its acquisition past EU regulators". Techcrunch. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  18. ^ "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to leave company". Reuters. September 12, 2017.
  19. ^ "WhatsApp's Brian Acton to talk Signal Foundation and leaving Facebook at Disrupt SF". TechCrunch. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  20. ^ Perrigo, Billy (September 25, 2020). "The Inside Story of How Signal Became the Private Messaging App for an Age of Fear and Distrust". TIME. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Signal Technology Foundation - Form 990 for period ending December 2018". Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "WhatsApp Cofounder Promotes #deletefacebook Amid Cambridge Analytica Scandal", Kathleen Chaykowski, Forbes, March 21, 2018
  23. ^ Schiffer, Zoe (November 8, 2019). "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton still thinks you should delete Facebook". The Verge. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  25. ^ "Home | Wildcard Giving". wildcardgiving.org. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  26. ^ a b Brian Acton. "our story". Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  27. ^ "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton invested $50 million into the Signal app — here's how he spends his $6.9 billion fortune". Business Insider. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  28. ^ "Brian and Tegan Acton". Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  29. ^ a b Hoffower, Hillary (March 12, 2018). "WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton invested $50 million into the Signal app - here's how he spends his $6.9 billion fortune". Business Insider.
  30. ^ King, Danny (November 13, 2019). "Magnify Community Pledge calls on Silicon Valley millionaires and billionaires to invest more of their philanthropic dollars back into the local community". Bizjournals. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  31. ^ Stangel, Luke (September 13, 2017). "Billionaire WhatsApp cofounder is leaving Facebook to start a nonprofit". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  32. ^ Çam, Deniz. "These Are The Biggest Givers On The Forbes 400". Forbes. Retrieved June 28, 2020. Acton and his wife Tegan, on the other hand, have been expanding their philanthropic network, Wildcard Giving, which they founded in 2014 after Acton sold WhatsApp to Facebook. The couple has given away more than $1 billion to charitable causes.
  33. ^ McClain, James (May 31, 2019). "WhatsApp Co-Founder Brian Acton Assembles an $86 Million Palo Alto Compound". Archived from the original on August 26, 2019.
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