David Filo Net Worth & Biography

On April 20 in the year 1966, David Filo, a billionaire in the technology industry who quit his Ph.D. program halfway, was born in Louisiana, United States. He went on to co-found Yahoo which has now become one of the leading tech establishments on the planet. According to forbes.com, David Filo’s net worth is $3.2 billion as of the time this report was penned, down from $5.2 billion in November 2020. David was the son of an accountant and an architect. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Tulane University and later Stanford University for his master’s degree in electrical engineering. He enrolled in Stanford University for his Ph.D. program, and as fate would have it, he met and befriended Jerry Yang. The two friends dropped out of school to pursue their truest heart desires, which was an internet business that they named Yahoo. They incorporated the business in 1995 and it soon expanded its internet services from simply offering a guide to the World Wide Web to include important features like e-mail and search. It was then one of the biggest and most successful internet companies such that towards the end of 1999, it had a market cap of more than $100 billion. Following the dotcom bubble burst of 2001, the company’s value tanked to as low as $10 billion before 2003. In 2008, Bill Gates’ Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo for the sum of $50 billion but his offer was rejected. In 2016, Verizon acquired the web businesses of Yahoo for over $4 billion in cash. Yahoo was then renamed Altaba. Its main assets are its 15 percent investment in Alibaba, 35 percent stake in Yahoo Japan and a number of holdings in various startups. Mr. Filo and his wife Angela have a child together. They have been making cash donations to enhance education through their charity organization called Yellow Chair Foundation.

Early Life: Childhood, Education

This internet entrepreneur was born David Robert Filo on April 20, 1966 in Wisconsin, United States. His father worked as an architect, while his mother was an accountant.

For his education, David attended Tulane University (through the Dean’s Honor Scholarship) for his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. He then attended Stanford University for his M.S. degree in electrical engineering, graduating in 1990. He registered for a Ph.D. program at Stanford University but dropped it to start his career in the tech industry.

Professional Life: Entrepreneurial Career

In February 1994, David Filo and his friend Jerry Yang created an Internet website consisting of a directory of other websites which they called “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web”. It was later renamed “Yahoo!“. After it became very popular, the co-founders realized the business potential and decided to launch Yahoo! Inc.

Yahoo was one of the forerunners of the early Internet era in the 1990s. It started off as a web portal with an internet directory providing a range of products and services for different online activities. It is still one of the world’s leading internet brands and due to partnerships with top telecommunications firms, it is one of the most visited sites on the internet.

Personal Life: Wife, Children, Private Interests

If there was anyone in the tech industry who deserved awards given for keeping their personal life private, it has to be this man, whose life and private affairs are more private than anyone would have imagined of a computer and internet expert.

From what has been gathered on David, he is the father of one child with his wife Angela Buenning, who works as a teacher and photographer. The couple and their child live together at David’s mansion in Palo Alto, California. Despite being one of the world’s known billionaires, David maintains a very quiet life and a modest one at that. He goes to work in his old Datsun to the headquarters of his company in Santa Clara, California.

Mr. Filo is also a generous philanthropist. He is remembered for his $30 million donation to his alma mater Tulane University in 2005. He and his wife Angela have been making cash donations to enhance education through their charity organization called Yellow Chair Foundation.

It comes as a surprise that despite being a successful computer expert, David holds no account on social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, making it quite difficult for one to trace his lifestyle.

David Filo Net Worth: Salary, Income Sources, Assets

As of this writing, David Filo’s net worth is estimated at $3.2 billion by Forbes magazine. This American businessman is one half of the due that founded Yahoo!, the other half is Jerry Yang.

As it stands, his net worth ranks him as the 379th-richest businessperson in the world. His main source of income is his position at Yahoo, which has grown from a simple web directory service provider to one of the biggest online businesses ever created.