Eduardo Saverin

Eduardo Saverin

Saverin at the CHINICT conference
on May 25, 2012
Born Eduardo Luiz Saverin
(1982-03-19) 19 March 1982
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Residence Singapore
Citizenship Brazil[1][2]
United States (formerly)
Alma mater Harvard University (B.A., Economics, 2006)
Known for Co-founder of Facebook
Net worth Increase US $6. 9 billion (2016)[3]
Spouse(s) Elaine Andriejanssen (m. 2015)
Website facebook.com/Saverin

Eduardo Luiz Saverin[4][5][6] (Portuguese pronunciation: [eduˈaɾdu luˈis ˈsaveɾĩ]; born 19 March 1982) is a Brazilian Internet entrepreneur, economist and angel investor.[7] Saverin is one of the co-founders of Facebook.[8] As of 2015, he owns 53 million Facebook shares[9] (approximately 0.4% of all outstanding shares) and has a net worth of $7.2 billion, according to Forbes. He has also invested in early-stage startups such as Qwiki[10] and Jumio.[11]

In what was seen by some as a move to avoid US taxes, Saverin renounced his US citizenship in September 2011.[12][13] According to Saverin, he renounced his citizenship because of his "interest in working and living in Singapore" where he has been since 2009.[14] He avoided an estimated $700 million in capital gains taxes; this generated some media attention and controversy.[7][15][16] Saverin denies that he left the U.S. to avoid paying taxes.[17]

Family and early life

Eduardo Saverin was born in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, to a wealthy Jewish Brazilian family,[8][18][19] and his family later moved to Rio de Janeiro. Saverin's father, Roberto Saverin, was an industrialist working in clothing, shipping, and real estate.[20] His mother, Paula, was a psychologist and he has two siblings.[21] His Romanian-born grandfather, Eugenio Saverin (born Eugen Saverin), is the founder of Tip Top, a chain of kidswear retail shops.[21] In 1993, the family emigrated to the US, settling in Miami, Florida.[22]

Education

Saverin attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, and went on to Harvard University, where he was a resident of Eliot House (Harvard College) and a member of the Phoenix S.K. Club as well as president of the Harvard Investment Association. While an undergraduate at Harvard, Saverin took advantage of Brazil's lax insider trading regulations and made $300,000 via strategic investments in the oil industry.[20][23][24] In 2006, Saverin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in economics.[25] He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity (Eta Psi chapter of Harvard University).

Career

Facebook

During his junior year at Harvard, Saverin met fellow Harvard undergraduate, sophomore Mark Zuckerberg. Noting the lack of a dedicated social networking website for Harvard students, the two worked together to launch The Facebook in 2004. As co-founder, Saverin held the role of chief financial officer and business manager.[8]

On May 15, 2012 Business Insider obtained and released an exclusive email from Zuckerberg detailing how he cut Saverin from Facebook and diluted his stake.[26]

A lawsuit filed by Facebook against Saverin and a countersuit filed by Saverin against Facebook were settled out of court. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and the company affirmed Saverin's title as co-founder of Facebook. Saverin signed a non-disclosure contract after the settlement.[27]

Post Facebook

In 2016, Saverin's fund closed initial deals of over $140 million in Asia, including $30M in up and coming regional logistics startup Ninja Van.[28]

Aporta

In 2010, Saverin and Mexican entrepreneur Aldo Alvarez co-founded Aporta, an online portal for charity.[22][29]

Depictions in media

The 2010 film The Social Network depicts the relationship between Saverin and Zuckerberg from their creation of Facebook to Saverin's legal action against Zuckerberg. Actor Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Saverin was met with critical acclaim, receiving nominations such as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[30]

Personal life

Saverin met Elaine Andriejanssen, a Chinese Indonesian woman who was educated at Raffles Girls' School and comes from a family which runs several businesses[31] in Massachusetts. On March 27, 2014, they became engaged and were married on June 25, 2015, in the French Riviera.[32][33]

Renunciation of US citizenship

Saverin has lived in Singapore since 2009.[34][35] Saverin became a U.S. citizen in 1998 and renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2011 because of his "interest in working and living in Singapore";[14] he also reduced the capital gains taxes he would have paid after the Facebook IPO.[7][15][16] The Wall Street Journal estimated the tax savings at over $700 million.[36]

After renouncing his US citizenship, Saverin had to pay an expatriation tax equivalent to the 15% capital gains tax at the marked-to-market value of his stock holdings at the time of ~$50/share × 53 million shares.[9]

In response, Senator Chuck Schumer introduced the Ex-PATRIOT Act, which would have imposed additional taxes on former US citizens, but the bill died in committee.[37][38][39] Since 1996, the Reed Amendment makes former citizens inadmissible to the United States if the Attorney General determines that they gave up citizenship to avoid taxation. However, it is difficult to enforce in practice.[40] Reed Amendment author Jack Reed wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to urge that Saverin be barred from entering the United States, but as of 2015, he has not applied for travel authorization to re-enter the US.

References

  1. ↑ Kucera, Danielle; Harper, Christine; Drucker, Jesse (12 May 2015). "Facebook Co-Founder May Gain Choosing Singapore Over U.S.". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2015. Saverin still does hold Brazilian citizenship, Goodman said.
  2. ↑ "Saverin 'has no plans to become S'pore citizen'" (PDF). Today. 2012-05-17. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 26, 2013. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
  3. ↑ "Eduardo Saverin Net Worth". Forbes.
  4. ↑ Internal Revenue Service (2012). "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen to Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G". Federal Register.
  5. ↑ Feeney, Kevin J. (25 February 2005). "Business, Casual". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "America's Youngest Billionaires". Forbes. October 6, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Kucera, Danielle; Vallikappen, Sanat; Harper, Christine (2012-05-11). "Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Gives Up U.S. Citizenship Before IPO". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  8. 1 2 3 Mezrich, Ben. The Accidental Billionaires. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-52937-2.
  9. 1 2 Eduardo Saverin (17 May 2012). "UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES - Eduardo Saverin". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  10. ↑ Bosker, Bianca, "Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Invests In Qwiki"
  11. ↑ Wauters, Robin, "Exclusive: Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Leads $6.5M Round For Jumio", TechCrunch, Thursday, March 17, 2011
  12. ↑ Mathews, Merrill (23 May 2012). "In Praise Of Eduardo Saverin's Tax Avoidance". Forbes. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "So How Much Did He Really Save?". Wall Street Journal. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  14. 1 2 David Benoit (17 May 2012). "Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Fires Back At 'Misinformation'".
  15. 1 2 McCormick, Jason (11 July 2012). "5 citizens who left the United States to avoid paying tax". CBS News. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 Worstall, Tim (May 12, 2012). "IPO Will Increase, Not Reduce, His Tax Bill". Forbes. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  17. ↑ Mathews, Merrill (23 May 2012). "In Praise Of Eduardo Saverin's Tax Avoidance". Forbes. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  18. ↑ The Social Network: How Jewish is Facebook?, The Jewish Chronicle, Jennifer Lipman, October 14, 2010
  19. ↑ Amormim, Lucas (2009). "Zuckerberg: jovem, bilionário e... trapaceiro?" [Zuckerberg: young billionaire ... cheater?]. Exame (in Portuguese). Editora Abril. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  20. 1 2 Tagiaroli, Guilherme; Ikeda, Ana (October 22, 2010). "Conheça Eduardo Saverin, o brasileiro que ajudou a fundar o Facebook" [Meet Eduardo Saverin, the Brazilian who helped found Facebook]. UOL (in Portuguese). Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  21. 1 2 Antunes, Anderson (27 May 2012). "Eduardo Saverin Finally Opens Up: 'No Hard Feelings Between Me And Mark Zuckerberg". Forbes. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Eduardo Saverin, o brasileiro do Facebook, conta sua história" [Eduardo Saverin, the Brazilian of Facebook, tells his story]. Veja (in Portuguese). Grupo Abril. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  23. ↑ The Truth Behind Facebook's Founding is Finally Revealed
  24. ↑ "A Facebook Tale: Founder Unfriends Pals on Way Up", NPR
  25. ↑ "Facebook Founders Bios". Facebook.
  26. ↑ Carlson, Nicholas (15 May 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Here's The Email Zuckerberg Sent To Cut His Cofounder Out Of Facebook". Business Insider. Business Insider Inc. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Carvalho dos Santos, Alexandre; Marcelo Rainho (October 2009). "A misteriosa história do brasileiro que fundou o Facebook" ["The mysterious story of the Brazilian who founded Facebook."]. Superinteressante (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Editora Abril (270): 94–97. ISSN 0104-1789. OCLC 60743498.
  28. ↑ Russell, Jon (19 May 2016). "Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's new fund closes initial $140M for deals in Asia". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Eduardo Saverin - CrunchBase". CrunchBase. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  30. ↑ Singh, Anita (2011-01-18). "Andrew Garfield: Famous? I just don't have the time ...". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  31. ↑ Chia, Stacey (20 June 2015). "Eduardo Saverin's fiancee studied at Raffles Girls' School, Indonesian family runs several businesses". AsiaOne. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  32. ↑ Iyengar, Rishi (26 July 2015). "Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Confirms News of Wedding in Facebook Post". TIME. Time Inc. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  33. ↑ Karmali, Naazneen (25 June 2015). "Secret Wedding Celebration Of Facebook Co-Founder Eduardo Saverin Kicks Off". Forbes. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  34. ↑ Miguel Helft (January 20, 2011). "Facebook Co-Founder Backs Start-Up". New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  35. ↑ Lacy, Sarah, "Where in the World Is Eduardo Saverin? In Singapore Funding Facebook Games", TechCrunch, Thursday, October 28, 2010
  36. ↑ "So How Much Did He Really Save?". Wall Street Journal. 2012-05-18. based on financial filings, experts say, it was likely tens of millions in income tax and far more in estate tax—at least $700 million at current values and tax rates.
  37. ↑ Miller, Sunlen (2012-05-17). "Senators to Unveil the 'Ex-Patriot Act' to Respond to Facebook's Saverin's Tax 'Scheme'". ABC News. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  38. ↑ With the Facebook IPO, missing Eduardo Saverin, Washington Post, May 18, 2012
  39. ↑ "Bill Summary & Status, 112th Congress (2011 - 2012): S.3205". THOMAS. 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  40. ↑ Bruce, Charles M.; Saret, Lewis; Lagonico, Stéphane; Trow, Steve (2006-03-13). "The Exit Tax — A Perfectly Bad Idea" (PDF). Tax Notes International. 41 (10). Retrieved 2012-05-18.

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