Where is Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin now? The Brazilian billionaire still owns a stake in Meta and is Singapore’s richest man, having grown his wealth to US$19.6 billion … but how?
Saverin’s fallout with Zuckerberg and his later departure from the company inspired a storyline in The Social Network, a film depicting a partially fictionalised version of the early years of Facebook, in which Andrew Garfield plays Saverin.
But these days, Singapore-based Saverin looks back at his journey with pride and gratitude.
“As a 21-year-old college student, I made the first seed investment into Facebook with the majority of my life savings. I am thankful and humbled to have played a part in Facebook’s remarkable transition from a then one-college-specific social network to the most ubiquitous social utility in the world today,” he wrote on his LinkedIn.
After suing Facebook and reaching a settlement with terms that have never been disclosed, Saverin reportedly owns a two per cent stake in the company. Of course, as the company now known as Meta Platforms increases in value, so does Saverin’s bank account.
Here’s what the Facebook co-founder is up to these days.
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Eduardo Saverin is Singapore’s richest man
Forbes recently listed Saverin as the richest person in Singapore on its latest list of 50 wealthiest people in the Lion City. With a net worth of around US$18.7 billion, he’s also the 97th richest person in the world.
The Brazilian native, who has been living in Singapore for over a decade, climbed to the top of the 2023 Forbes list of Singapore’s 50 Richest by adding US$6.4 billion to his net worth, thanks to Meta shares increasing drastically in recent years. Just last year, Saverin was the fourth richest person in Singapore, per Forbes’ list.
His controversial move to Singapore
Saverin packed his bags and moved to Singapore in 2009 and renounced his US citizenship in 2012, a move that saw him avoid an estimated US$700 million in capital gains taxes, per Wall Street Journal. The savvy businessman denied all claims that he was avoiding the bill, and claimed he merely wanted to live and work in Singapore instead.
While he generates most of his wealth from Meta, Saverin is still firmly settled in Singapore where he is a venture capitalist with a variety of investments in Southeast Asia and beyond.
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His life after Facebook
Saverin went on to have several successful business ventures after his roller coaster stint at Facebook.
Among the other companies he co-founded, per Screenrant, are Aporta, an online donation portal, and B Capital, a venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs in the technology field. Forbes reported in 2022 that B Capital had raised US$250 million to invest in early stage start-up companies.
He has also invested in Jumio, an online company that protects customers from fraud and identity theft, Shopsavvy, a price-comparison mobile application, and Qwiki, a multimedia video website.
In 2020, Saverin invested in Antler, an early-stage venture capital fund and start-up accelerator founded by his Harvard classmate and close friend, Magnus Grimeland, per Antler’s website.
He married his varsity sweetheart
Saverin wed Elaine Andriejanssen, an Indonesian national of Chinese descent, at an undisclosed location near the French Riviera in 2015, per Forbes. The couple met while both were studying in Massachusetts – Saverin at Harvard and Andriejanssen at Tufts – and reconnected after Saverin’s move to Singapore, where Andriejanssen was also based.
Andriejanssen, who reportedly works in the finance industry as the executive chairman at EE Capital, comes from a prominent Indonesian family that runs several businesses in the country. The couple has one child together.
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He owns record-breaking homes in Singapore
When Saverin claimed to want to live and work in Singapore over a decade ago, he didn’t seem to be joking. He’s firmly made the tiny island nation his home over the years, snapping up some of the country’s most exclusive and expensive properties in the process.
According to reports, a 5,000 sq ft penthouse unit at Orchard Residences is one of the first property purchases Saverin made in Singapore. It’s atop the ION Orchard shopping centre, the tallest building in the area, and has 175 exclusive units.
Of course, his property portfolio expands beyond Singapore, too. This year, he reportedly snapped up two chalets in French ski resort Courchevel for around US$95 million. The two homes are linked by their basements and total over 32,000 sq ft.
- Eduardo Saverin invested US$15,000 in Facebook, then was infamously booted from the venture by Mark Zuckerberg, which was depicted in The Social Network starring Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield
- The Brazil-born billionaire has co-founded a number of successful business ventures, including Aporta and B Capital, and invested in several luxury properties