Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is worth an estimated $12.3 billion, but just a fraction of his personal fortune is derived from the microblogging platform, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mr Dorsey, the 178th richest person in the world, owns 2 per cent of Twitter, which contributes about $850 million to his net worth. The rest of his fortune comes from his 13 per cent stake in Square, the small business payments company he co-founded with Jim McKelvey in 2009, according to a regulatory filing earlier this year.
“Though he may be most widely known as the co-founder and co-creator of Twitter, interestingly the majority of Jack Dorsey's net worth actually comes from his stake in the mobile payments company Square. He also controls around $1bn worth of cash and other assets,” according to Celebrity Net Worth, which tracks the wealth and finances of the rich and famous.
Mr Dorsey’s property holdings include a home in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, which he bought for $4.22m in 2018, Celebrity Net Worth said.
“His primary residence since 2012 is a large home in San Francisco, which he bought for $10m … in 2017, he paid $22m for the house next door.”
On Monday, Mr Dorsey, 45, announced that he is stepping down as chief executive of Twitter, the company he co-founded in 2006, and will be replaced by Parag Agrawal, the company's chief technology officer.
The move is effective immediately, Twitter said in a statement, but Mr Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022.
“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders,” Mr Dorsey said in the statement.
Twitter's stock price, which trades on the Nasdaq index, surged by more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on Monday after CNBC first reported news of Mr Dorsey's move.
However, the Nasdaq halted trading in the stock earlier in the day and it closed 2.74 per cent down at $45.78.
In 2020, Twitter had more than 190 million daily users and reported revenue of $3.72bn, while Square's revenue was $9.5bn, according to Bloomberg.
In August, Square, which went public in 2015, agreed to buy Australian buy now, pay later company Afterpay for $29bn in its largest acquisition.
At the time, the all-stock offer valued Afterpay shares at A$126.21 ($92.71) each.
Square said the BNPL concept represents a chance to capitalise on a shift away from traditional credit, especially among younger consumers who may not have a credit card.
Meanwhile, in April last year, Mr Dorsey pledged $1bn of his stake in Square to coronavirus relief efforts, which represented about 28 per cent of his wealth at the time.
“I hope this inspires others to do something similar,” Mr Dorsey said in a tweet at the time. “Life is too short, so let's do everything we can today to help people now.”
Earlier this year, Mr Dorsey sold a digital version of his first tweet for more than $2.9m, two weeks after he announced an auction for the post that had been converted into a non-fungible token.
The March 2006 tweet, which says “just setting up my twttr”, was bought by Bridge Oracle chief executive Sina Estavi, according to Valuables by Cent, the platform where the digital auction for the tweet was held.
