The rise – and plateau – of Snapchat billionaire Evan Spiegel, from his privileged upbringing in LA to dropping out of Stanford to start the app, and living an OTT lifestyle with wife Miranda Kerr
- Four years after launching Snapchat with his Stanford mates, Spiegel became one of the youngest billionaires in the world, but his net worth plunged from US$13.9 billion to US$2.3 billion last year
- The 33-year-old lives a luxe lifestyle with his supermodel wife Miranda Kerr, has turned down Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s repeated offers to buy his company – and doesn’t see TikTok as a competitor
Evan Spiegel is no stranger to the ups and downs of helming a major tech company.
In 2015, Spiegel became one of the youngest billionaires in the world – just four years after launching Snapchat. Between 2021 and 2022 though, Spiegel saw his net worth tank by almost 83 per cent as Snap Inc. contended with year-over-year losses and problems with its advertising business.
Now, at 33, he’s worth around US$2.6 billion, according to the latest estimates from Forbes.
Snapchat still ranks among the world’s most recognised social media brands and boasts almost 400 million daily active users, Spiegel said in the company’s 2023 second quarter earnings release. However, during the last year, the company underwent sweeping lay-offs, shut down projects and saw a shake-up in its executive ranks, as it struggled with profitability and steady revenue growth.
Here’s how Evan Spiegel got his start and became a billionaire by the time he was 25 – and how Snap Inc. struggled to stay on top:
Evan Spiegel had a privileged upbringing
Born in 1990, Spiegel grew up in a US$2 million house in the Pacific Palisades, a ritzy Los Angeles enclave just east of Malibu. He is the oldest of three children and his parents are lawyers educated at Harvard and Stanford, according to a report from LA Weekly.
Young Spiegel spent his early years at an ultra-exclusive school called Crossroads, which costs tens of thousands per academic year. The Santa Monica private school’s notable alumni include celebrities like Jonah Hill, Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow.
When Spiegel turned 16 and got his driving licence, his parents gave him a new Cadillac Escalade. Less than a year later, his parents announced they were getting divorced and Spiegel went to live with his father full-time during his senior year of high school, the LA Weekly reported.
Around this time, Spiegel landed a marketing internship with Red Bull, during which he reportedly racked up expenses and held several parties at his father’s home.