With an estimated net worth of 50.6 billion dollars at the young age of only 44; Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin is the current President of Alphabet – Google’s parent company. As one of the co-founders of the search engine giant itself; Brin is one of the top twenty richest people in the whole world… but how did he get that way and, more importantly, how does he stay that way?A Russian by birth; the now Californian Citizen Brin moved to the US at the tender age of 6. In spite of humble upbringings he first studied computing and science at the University of Maryland before he studied for his PHD in Computing Science at Stanford University. While there he responded to a request by one Larry Page for assistance on a project. That project was a universal search engine theory named Backrub (Techland Time) that eventually turned into Googol, which was later shortened to Google.
Brin is responsible for the data mining system which made Google’s algorithms work, but it is frequently suggested that Page was the mastermind behind Google and Brin was just his assistant. Brin does not argue with this, but has some serious merits in his own right. He once interned with Wolfram Research and his position at Stanford was the result of a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Brin is the mastermind behind Google.org which piles money into renewable energies. He is also the head of Google’s mysterious Google X department who (legend has it) are working on new applications for AI in the search engine field.
Brin and Page have both invested in Tesla Motors and Sergey also made significant donations to the Virginia Space Adventures program. Together he and his business partner have won the Marconi Foundation prize as well as the Academy of Achievements Gold Plate Award. Currently the president of Alphabet, Brin was voted number 9 in the Forbes 400 in 2018… just one of countless awards given to he and his company for their innovative work in the search engine field.
With such a huge and extensive customer base as what Google has established; both Brin and Page have very little other income sources. Both invest prolifically in companies that renew, that don’t use fossil fuels and that somehow bring the future closer with their work… all the ethics reflected in their own company and subsidiaries. A self- made billionaire, Brin has chosen not to take part in the Giving Pledge, an agreement wherein billionaires pledge to give away half or more of their fortune. That being said Brin has no end to his philanthropic works, donating to hospitals frequently.
Google has become a household name – more than that, perhaps. It is instantly recognizable across language barriers and is the biggest digital marketing advertiser on the planet. With income like that there isn’t really any need for other financial sources. In spite of numerous law suits and a company that has been accused of monopolizing the search engine market simply because of their unprecedented success; Brin has started a company that benefits us all every single day. Alphabet is forward thinking and universally innovative – but it also made Brin a very rich man. At only 44 it is unlikely that we will see him retire any time soon so we still have hope… we suspect that both he and Page might be turned towards the Giving Pledge at some point in the coming years.
