The prototypical Internet entrepreneur, Parker has helped create or fund some of the biggest names on the Web—companies known for disrupting old industry models—and he's done so without any formal higher education. In June 1999, he launched the music-sharing application Napster with his high school friend Shawn Fanning. The service incurred the wrath of the Recording Industry Association of America (and Metallica). It also introduced the world to digital music and changed the industry's business model.
Parker went on to launch Plaxo, an online address book and social networking service, before becoming Facebook's first president. After leaving the company, Parker joined Peter Thiel's Founders Fund as a managing partner, where he invested $15 million in streaming music service Spotify. In 2011, Parker and Fanning reunited to form Airtime, a social video website whose investors include actor Ashton Kutcher and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas (the site is scheduled to launch June 5). Parker is also the founder of Causes, a philanthropic social media platform that connect charities with supporters and potential donors.
Born: Dec. 3, 1979, Herndon, VA
Lives: San Francisco, CA
Education: Oakton High School (Vienna, VA), Chantilly High School (Chantilly, VA)
Sean Parker, Facebook IPO
Relationship to Facebook
Parker was famously ousted as Facebook president after a 2005 drug bust, but he was able to maintain a stake in the company. Parker owns 4.5 percent of B shares and has 4.4 percent of total voting. The stock value is about $2.6 billion, based on shares provided in the S-1 filing.
Career Profile
Current Occupation: Managing partner, Founders Fund; Co-founder, Airtime
Former Occupation: Napster, Plaxo
