James Monsees Biography & Net Worth

James Monsees Biography & Net Worth

James Monsees is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He is best known for being the co-founder and former Chief Product Officer (CPO) of Juul Labs, the popular electronic cigarette company. He co-founded the company with friend and partner Adam Bowen. They met during smoke breaks as students of Stanford University in 2004. Being an integral part of the popular electronic cigarette company has been responsible for almost all of James Monsees net worth. Since the start of the company over a decade ago, James has made sure that his contributions and leadership were positive and leading towards profit making and expansion of the brand. While Juul Labs is a popular electronic cigarette maker today, not too many people know the man behind it all. It is on that note that we have compiled this article on James Monsees biography, business career, and everything else included in how he has manage to acquire his wealth through his involvement in several businesses.

James Monsees’ Early Life

James Monsees was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States on 2 May 1979. He went to Whitfield School in St. Louis and later enrolled in Kenyon College for a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Studio Art. After he graduated, he moved on to attend Stanford University for a Masters degree in Product Design. While studying at Stanford in 2007, he met fellow student Adam Bowen at an innovation program and they became friends and thought about creating alternative cigarette options. From here, they came up with an idea of producing electronic cigarette.

James Monsees’ Career

As soon as he graduated from Stanford University, he teamed up with his friend Adam Bowen and they opened a startup which was named Juul. It was an electronic cigarette company, and it laid dormant for its first few years with very little profit. James Monsees was the Chief Product Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the company at that time. He believed in their company and put in all efforts in holding his company steady.

Breakthrough came their way when around 2013 and 2014, an internet trend started where teenagers began showing off their electronic cigarette smoking skills online. This trend turned out to be a fortunate stroke for James and his company Juul, and sales began to skyrocket. Day by day, the company’s fame continued to increase along with their worth. They became a huge subject of controversies as numerous people sued James and the company for misleading teenagers. However, none of the accusations against them were proven and they were never convicted.

Juul is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company registered revenue of $2 billion in the year 2018 and also employed about 1,500 people. The Juul electronic cigarette packages nicotine salts obtained from leaf tobacco into cartridges which have a onetime use. It became the most popular electronic cigarette in the United States but has been subject to several investigations by the United States Food and Drug Administration due to its high nicotine concentrations.

In December 2018, Juul sold around 35% stake to Altria. The following year, the company’s private valuation was disclosed to be $38 billion. Today the company is valued at about $14 billion. James and Adam each reportedly own about 1.75% of the company.

James Monsees stepped down from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Juul in March 2020. He also quit his position as an adviser and board member of the company.

Awards & Achievements

James Monsees has not been opportune to win any significant awards in his life. He was on Forbes’ List of billionaires until he was dropped from the list in 2019. He has accomplished a lot on his own by establishing the world –popular electronic cigarette brand Juul. He served the company for many years as its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Product Officer, and Member of Board, and worked hard to take the company to great heights. Despite suffering hard times and minimal profits in its initial days, James never backed down from the company, but ensured to lead the company on to achieve popularity among smokers.

Personal Life

This super-rich businessman and co-founder of Juul hardly talks about his private life.  While he has millions of fans and followers on his social media channels, nobody has been achieved success in finding out details about his relationship, family, or children. James Monsees seems to enjoy keeping his private life very private indeed, and is not interested in making much detail known to the public.

James Monsees Net Worth

This American businessman and entrepreneur has made his wealth from the electronic cigarette company that spun off in 2017 from the electronic vaporizer company PAX Labs that as founded in 2007 by James Monsees himself, along with his friend Adam Bowen. In December 2018, the company sold a 35% stake to Altria, and James Monsees net worth was increased from around $750 million to a billion dollars.

Today, James Monsees net worth stands at $1.5 billion. His current salary and annual earning is volatile and unknown. His source of income is his position as a shareholder in Juul. He has set a clear example of how far a little investment in an idea can go.