Unlock Joe Peretti's Net Worth: An Impressive Career to Match
BuzzFeed is been greatly known for its transmedia content and Jonah Peretti is the man behind the digital giant. What's the BuzzFeed CEO's net worth?
April 20 2023, Published 6:03 p.m. ET
The digital age has dramatically influenced the journalistic landscape and how media is mass-consumed. And certain digital outlets have earned great brand recognition and can be listed as trailblazers in the online news industry. BuzzFeed is one of them. Jonah Peretti co-founded the outlet with John Johnson III in 2006, and the rest is truly history.
But before he helped revolutionize digital content forever, he co-founded The Huffington Post. It's safe to say Peretti's career history is just as impressive as his net worth. So, if you've ever taken a BuzzFeed personality quiz to find out what kind of fruit are or skimmed one of their breezy articles, read on for more about the man behind the media giant.
Jonah Peretti
BuzzFeed co-founder and CEO
Net worth: $250 Million
Jonah Peretti is an American businessperson most associated with his work with The Huffington Post and BuzzFeed. He resides with his family in the Los Feliz neighborhood in Los Angeles, Calif.. Peretti's net worth value is firmly anchored to the success of BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post, as each site raked in millions of dollars in revenue. Peretti still participates in stock holding and real estate deals.
Birthdate: Jan. 1, 1974
Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.
Spouse: Andrea Harner
Kids: 2
How much of BuzzFeed does Jonah Peretti own?
Comcast is the largest shareholder of BuzzFeed and holds an impressive 23 percent of the company, while the general public has around 23 percent of the stake in the BuzzFeed company. Another 14 percent is privately owned. Peretti holds 4.8 percent of ownership when it comes to breaking down what part of BuzzFeed is financially and statistically still his.
While Peretti is an owner of BuzzFeed, he isn't the sole owner. He simply owns a percent of the company.
Why is 'BuzzFeed News' shutting down?
BuzzFeed News has announced that it will be ceasing operations due to a revenue decline and cited issues around unsustainable social media presence as a reason to shut down. Per Forbes, Peretti said he "overinvested" in BuzzFeed News even though the site didn't have the "financial support required to support premium, free journalism." He also said that the COVID-19 pandemic and the rolling recession was factored into the decision to end BuzzFeed News as a web publication.
BuzzFeed as a whole will continue to exist as an organization, and all news efforts will be funneled into The Huffington Post, meaning the choice to end BuzzFeed News operations is a transitional aspect toward growing The Huffington Post's news writing team. BuzzFeed's lack of revenue led to the news bracket's termination and "most other discretionary, non-revenue generating expenditures." This comes as a part of networkwide cuts made by Insider Inc.
NBC News reports that the announcement was delivered to BuzzFeed employees via email, where Peretti explained the situation in a company-wide statement in April 2023:
"While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we've determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization."