He encouraged people to speak their minds in 140 characters or less. And now, Evan Williams’ net worth is in the billions. But he didn’t take the easy road to success. From farming to college dropout to blogging to countless tech startups, his story proves that building extreme wealth takes a lot of trial and error.
How did Evan Williams go from dropout to billionaire? This guide will teach you everything you need to know about Twitter co-founder and internet magnate Evan Williams, including his net worth, web applications, and investments.
Learn how Evan Williams became one of the tech industry’s most successful entrepreneurs.
And learn how YOU can build your own 7-figure (or more!) business—FREE!
Evan Williams Net Worth: | $1.8 billion |
Full Name: | Evan “Ev” Clark Williams |
Age: | 51 |
Date of Birth: | March 31, 1972 |
Birthplace: | Clarks, Nebraska, USA |
Gender: | Male |
Education: | College Dropout |
Source of Wealth: | Internet Entrepreneur |
Best-Known For: | Co-Founder of Twitter |
What is Evan Williams’ net worth?
According to Forbes, Evan Williams’ net worth for May 2023 is $1.8 billion.
This Oracle founder is also worth billions!
Who is Evan Williams?
On March 31, 1972, Laurie Howe and Monte Williams welcomed their third child, Evan Clark Williams. The family lived on a working farm in Clarks, Nebraska. Little Evan—Ev for short—learned a lot about farm life, helping his parents with crop irrigation during the summers.
But Ev Williams didn’t want to grow up to be a farmer. Instead, he aspired to become an entrepreneur. After graduating high school, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. However, his life as a college student was short-lived. Evan soon dropped out.
After leaving college, Evan Williams accepted various jobs in the technology sector. In 1996, he landed a position for a tech publishing company, O’Reilly Media. Williams worked his way up the corporate ladder, moving from marketing to computer coding.
Using his new coding skills, Williams started his first website, EvHead.com. The site served as his personal blog, which would unknowingly shape his future companies.
Evan Williams: Internet Entrepreneur
In 1999, Williams paired up with Meg Hourihan to co-found Pyra Labs. Initially, the company was a web-based project management tool. But he soon developed a note-taking feature that became Blogger. Williams used the feature to manage his own online journal, now called a blog.
Blogger was a big hit. Google acquired the site in 2003 for an undisclosed amount.
A year later, Williams co-founded Odeo, a podcasting company. And in 2006, he started the Obvious Corporation with Biz Stone. While running Obvious, Williams met a skilled software engineer named Jack Dorsey.
Dorsey wanted to create an online text and instant messaging platform where people could connect with friends. Twitter became one of Obvious Corporation’s top projects, co-founded by Williams, Stone, Dorsey, and Noah Glass (a former Odeo employee). It was marketed as a micro-blogging and social networking service. Best of all, it was free.
Twitter was wildly popular, and Twitter, Inc. became a separate company in 2007. It didn’t take long for celebrities, media outlets, and corporations to use the platform to communicate with their audiences.
Evan Williams stepped down as CEO of Twitter in 2010 and resigned from his board member position in 2019.
This savvy tax advisor turned tax season into a multimillion-dollar empire.
Entrepreneurial Life After Twitter
After leaving Twitter, Evan Williams founded Medium, an online publishing platform. In 2012, it launched to a select group, eventually opening to everyone the following year. Today, Medium reaches over 85 million users monthly. Williams regularly blogs on the site.
A serial entrepreneur, Williams co-founded yet another company in 2014. This time, he started Obvious Ventures, a venture capital firm, with James Joaquin and Vishal Vasishth. The firm raised $123 million in its first round and over $585 million in total.
Evan Williams’ Personal Life
Is Evan Williams married? Yes, and happily so! Evan Williams’ wife is Sara Morishige Williams. The two met at one of Google’s elaborate company parties back in 2004. The couple tied the knot three years later in 2007. They have two daughters.
What is Evan Williams’ age? He’s only 51. There’s no telling what this tech entrepreneur has up his sleeve for the second half of his life.
What does Evan Williams invest in?
1. Twitter
Twitter stock made Williams a billionaire. For many years, Ev Williams owned 3.9% of Twitter’s stock—roughly 29 million shares. In 2018, he sold and gave away about 14.6 million shares.
Today, Williams owns zero stock in Twitter. Why? Elon Musk took the platform private in 2022 after becoming the new owner.
2. Blogs
Evan Williams’ Blogger became a household name for up-and-coming writers, small businesses, and countless stay-at-home moms. Google purchased Blogger for an undisclosed sum, but most assume Evan made millions from the sale.
Medium (Williams’ popular blogging and publishing platform) has a valuation of nearly $600 million. Ev still regularly contributes to the site.
3. Startups
Evan Williams has invested in many startup seed funding rounds, including Spring Free EV, OpenComp, The Browser Company, and Highly.
4. Farm Fraternity
Williams is an active member of FarmHouse, a professional agriculture fraternity. He joined the organization while still enrolled at the University of Nebraska.
5. Agriculture Companies
Evan and Sara Williams are vegetarians. The Obvious Venture—Ev’s venture capital firm—has invested heavily in Beyond Meat, which specializes in plant-based meat alternatives.
This out-of-the-box entrepreneur is following his passion for space all the way to the moon!
FAQs
How much is Evan Williams’ net worth?
EV Williams’ net worth as of May 2023 is $1.8 billion!
Here’s how Evan Williams of Twitter’s net worth has fluctuated—both up and down—over the years:
- Evan Williams net worth 2022: $2.1 billion
- Evan Williams net worth 2021: $2.5 billion
- Evan Williams net worth 2020: $600 million
- Evan Williams net worth 2019: $564 million
Here’s an entrepreneur who lost it all twice and still found a way to rebuild!
What was the first company Evan Williams founded?
Pyra Labs was Evan Williams’ first company, which he launched in 1999. He has co-founded several well-known companies, including:
- Pyra Labs
- Odeo
- Obvious Corporation
- Medium
- Obvious Ventures
What is the history of Evan Williams’ insider trading?
Williams has never admitted to insider trading, nor has he been accused. But he did raise eyebrows in 2017 when 30% of Ev’s Twitter holdings were sold for personal reasons. He set up a 10b5-1 trading plan with the SEC to avoid insider trading concerns.
How did Evan Williams gain fame?
Evan Williams became famous for being one of Twitter’s co-founders.
What is Evan Williams’ involvement with Twitter?
Williams acted as Twitter’s CEO from 2008 to 2010. He then served on the board until stepping down in February 2019.
He was once Twitter’s top shareholder. But Elon Musk took the platform private, and shareholders no longer retain any rights to the company.
What is Evan Williams’ Twitter handle?
Fans can follow @ev to see Williams’ latest tweets. And yes, even after Musk’s takeover, Ev still posts regularly.
Takeaway
Evan Williams was raised on a Nebraska farm and dropped out of college. But he found his true calling amongst other “techies” in California, launching several companies in the industry. Twitter and Medium brought him fame and wealth. And marrying the love of his life brought him extreme joy. Above all, he reminds other entrepreneurs, “Hard things are valuable; easy things are not so valuable.”
Want to enjoy the lifestyle that comes with insane wealth? While we can’t help you in 140 characters or less, Capitalism.com does provide all the resources, mentorship, and tools to build your own 7-figure brand—from scratch!
There has never been a better time to join us. We’re officially on a mission to make one million millionaires by 2028. And we want YOU to be the next one!
That’s why we made this FREE course that will help you grow your first million dollar brand in about a year. Join us now and let’s get started!