PayPal Co-Founder Max Levchin Might Be Entering Billionaire Territory
As a former member of the so-called "PayPal mafia," Max Levchin has seen his net worth skyrocket in recent times. What's his net worth and is he a billionaire?
Jan. 7 2021, Published 1:51 p.m. ET
Since co-founding PayPal in 1998, Max Levchin has been on the up and up. He has worked alongside billionaires like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk for decades. By 2012, he founded a successful software company. Now, he's moving into billionaire territory.
In 2019, Levchin was worth a solid $300 million. As he heads toward an IPO for his buy-now-pay-later app called Affirm, he's adding a few extra zeros to the mix.
Max Levchin is prepping for the Affirm IPO
The Affirm IPO is projected to be worth $9.2 billion, which accounts for about 250 million shares at upwards of $38 each. As the founder and CEO of Affirm, Levchin holds 11 percent of the company's shares. This equates to 27.5 million shares, which runs at $1.05 billion.
If all goes according to plan, Levchin will become a billionaire just over eight years after he founded Affirm. In addition to his existing $300 million net worth, it's safe to say that he will get there. Since Affirm shares are currently in a lockup period traditionally associated with IPOs, we will have to wait to see how the market reacts to the newly public company.
Max Levchin set to join billionaire club along with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel
The "PayPal mafia" is a group of 25 people associated with the early days of the PayPal boom. All of the members have gone on to other successful business ventures.
On the PayPal mafia list, Musk and Thiel are at the top. They have net worths of $171.3 billion and $5 billion, respectively. Musk has a rapidly growing net worth thanks to his successful companies Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Thiel has a hand in Palantir and also runs the Thiel Fellowship program, which has brought names like Austin Russell (CEO of Luminar Technologies) into the limelight.
All things considered, Levchin's social status is increasing right alongside his net worth.
Max Levchin's wife is a VC partner
Levchin is married to Nellie Levchin, who serves as a partner at early-stage startup venture capitalist firm SciFi VC. Levchin is also a partner for SciFi — a firm that's boosted companies like Coinbase, Ellevest, Opendoor, Peloton, Pinterest, and more. The company's portfolio bleeds with prominent names.
Levchin's wife is also on the board for companies like Glow, Inc. and Tipping Point Community. Her individual net worth isn't available.
Max Levchin's investments help boost his net worth
Levchin invested in Yelp early on. The platform launched in 2004 and he has been enjoying returns from his 7 million shares ever since.
Also, Levchin invested early in Evernote, which has seen its own boom and subsequent falter. Evernote is still around, although the Silicon Valley company has slimmed its corporate proportions tremendously. Through SciFi VC, Levchin is able to invest much further. As a fledgling billionaire just waiting for his public offering to exit the lockup period, it's clear that Levchin knows what works — and he's sticking to it.