What is the PayPal Mafia?
The "PayPal Mafia" is a term used to describe a group of former PayPal employees and founders who went on to become influential entrepreneurs and investors in the technology industry. Many members of this group have founded or played significant roles in some of the most successful tech companies of the 21st century. Here's an overview of some notable members and their contributions:
Elon Musk: Co-founder of X.com, which later became PayPal. Went on to found SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and The Boring Company.
Peter Thiel: Co-founder of PayPal. Co-founded Palantir Technologies and was the first outside investor in Facebook. Founded the venture capital firm Founders Fund.
Reid Hoffman: Executive Vice President at PayPal. Co-founded LinkedIn. Partner at Greylock Partners, a venture capital firm.
Max Levchin: Co-founder of PayPal. Co-founded Affirm, a financial technology company. Co-founded Slide, a social apps company, which was later acquired by Google.
Yishan Wong: Worked as an engineer at PayPal. Former CEO of Reddit. Co-founded Terraformation, a company focused on reforestation.
Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim: Engineers at PayPal. Co-founded YouTube, which was later acquired by Google.
David Sacks: COO of PayPal. Founded Yammer, a social network for businesses, which was acquired by Microsoft. Co-founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Roelof Botha: CFO of PayPal. Became a partner at Sequoia Capital, a prominent venture capital firm.
Russel Simmons: Engineer at PayPal. Co-founded Yelp, a local business review site.
Jeremy Stoppelman: Vice President of Engineering at PayPal. Co-founded Yelp.
Elon Musk: Co-founder of X.com, which later became PayPal. Went on to found SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and The Boring Company.
Peter Thiel: Co-founder of PayPal. Co-founded Palantir Technologies and was the first outside investor in Facebook. Founded the venture capital firm Founders Fund.
Reid Hoffman: Executive Vice President at PayPal. Co-founded LinkedIn. Partner at Greylock Partners, a venture capital firm.
Max Levchin: Co-founder of PayPal. Co-founded Affirm, a financial technology company. Co-founded Slide, a social apps company, which was later acquired by Google.
Yishan Wong: Worked as an engineer at PayPal. Former CEO of Reddit. Co-founded Terraformation, a company focused on reforestation.
Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim: Engineers at PayPal. Co-founded YouTube, which was later acquired by Google.
David Sacks: COO of PayPal. Founded Yammer, a social network for businesses, which was acquired by Microsoft. Co-founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm.
Roelof Botha: CFO of PayPal. Became a partner at Sequoia Capital, a prominent venture capital firm.
Russel Simmons: Engineer at PayPal. Co-founded Yelp, a local business review site.
Jeremy Stoppelman: Vice President of Engineering at PayPal. Co-founded Yelp.
