What Is New Lyft CEO David Risher's Net Worth?
Lyft Inc. shares rose after the ridesharing company appointed a new CEO. Who is David Risher and what's his net worth? Here's what we know.
March 29 2023, Published 1:20 p.m. ET
After it was announced that Lyft's co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer will step down from their day-to-day roles at the ridesharing behemoth, a new replacement was introduced. David Risher, a former Amazon and Microsoft executive, will be Lyft's new CEO starting on April 17, 2023. Risher joined Lyft's board in 2021.
David has his work cut out for him as Lyft has faced some challenging times recently, shedding over 700 positions and dramatically lowering profits, which sent its shares plunging. Lyft’s earnings stood in stark contrast to rival Uber, which saw ride bookings soar by 31 percent in the fourth quarter.
Keep reading to find out about David Risher's net worth.
David Risher
Incoming CEO of Lyft
Net worth: $5 million (estimated)
John David Risher is an American businessman and philanthropist who is the CEO and co-founder of Worldreader, a non-profit aimed at getting children to read. He's also the co-founder of #HalfMyDAF whose goal is to inspire more philanthropic giving. Prior to Worldreader, he helped develop and market Microsoft's first desktop database products and created some of their first internet-based services. He was also Amazon's first Senior Vice President of Retail.
Birthdate: July 15, 1965
Birthplace: Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Md.
Children: 2
David Risher is estimated to have a decent net worth.
While Risher's net worth isn't publicly disclosed, it's currently estimated to be around $5 million. He made his wealth primarily as an American businessman and philanthropist. In a corporate filing, Lyft has agreed to pay Risher an annual salary of $725,000 and a signing bonus of $3.25 million.
David Risher has plenty of experience working with top companies.
Risher was born and raised (primarily by his single mother) in Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Md. In 1987, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in comparative literature. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and is also a recipient of a Wilson College Honorary Doctorate.
He's a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Awardee, a Draper Richards Kaplan social entrepreneur, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, and a Microsoft Alumni Foundation Integral Fellow.
After graduating from college, he worked at L.E.K. Consulting and biked across the U.S.
Risher joined Microsoft in the early '90s because he was excited about Bill Gates' vision of software taking over the world. Under Gates' leadership, Risher led the development of some of Microsoft's earliest web properties. After Microsoft, he joined Amazon when it was just an online bookstore and worked with Jeff Bezos as Amazon's first SVP of retail to help it grow into the $4 billion business it is today.
He explained, "I learned of the power of leading with purpose. Each organization derived tremendous energy through a singleness of purpose. It’s what attracted and retained great people, allowed us to make focused decisions, and inspired our customers."
David has focused on philanthropy.
Guided by a passion to help children learn how to read so they can unlock their full potential, Risher has been leading a nonprofit organization called Worldreader for the past 13 years. Together with his team they've reached over 21 million readers across 46 countries with content in 52 different languages.
Risher and his wife Jennifer also launched #HalfMyDAF in 2020 to inspire more giving from Donor Advised Funds. Over the last three years, #HalfMyDAF partners and hundreds of DAF donors have made thousands of grants and moved over $33 million from DAFs to nonprofits.