Jack Dorsey

The Minimalist Who Built Two Tech Giants

tech business
Jack Dorsey

Net Worth

$3.8B

Born

November 19, 1976 (age 49)

Country

United States

Occupation

Entrepreneur, Programmer, CEO

Gender

male

Generation

Gen X

Marital Status

single

Children

0

Single Parent Household

No

Education

College Dropout

Industries

tech, business

Wealth Category

billionaire

Wealth Origin

self-made

First-Gen Wealth

Yes

Overcame

  • • Dropped out of college twice before finding success
  • • Was fired from his own company (Twitter) in 2008
  • • Struggled with speech impediment as a child
  • • Faced intense scrutiny and criticism for dual CEO role

Jack Dorsey is an American entrepreneur and programmer who co-founded Twitter and Square (now Block). Known for his minimalist lifestyle and unconventional leadership style, he served as CEO of both companies simultaneously. He is one of the most influential figures in Silicon Valley.

Career Timeline

1976

Born in St. Louis, Missouri

1995 Age 19
Turning Point

Started programming and dispatch software while in high school

1999 Age 23
Turning Point

Dropped out of NYU and moved to San Francisco

2000 Age 24
Setback

Founded dispatch company that failed after dot-com crash

2006 Age 29
Achievement

Co-founded Twitter with Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass

2008 Age 31
Setback

Ousted as Twitter CEO, replaced by Evan Williams

2009 Age 33
Turning Point

Founded Square (now Block) to democratize payment processing

2015 Age 38
Achievement

Returned as Twitter CEO while maintaining Square CEO role

2015 Age 39
Milestone

Took Square public on NYSE

2021 Age 45
Milestone

Stepped down as Twitter CEO for second time

2021 Age 45
Achievement

Square rebranded to Block, expanding focus to blockchain and TBD

Notable Quotes

"Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect."

— Interview, 2013

"The rest of the world is really good at telling you what you can't do. You need to ignore them."

— Interview, 2015

"Expect the unexpected. And whenever possible, be the unexpected."

— Twitter, 2010

"We have this impulse to build things and see them grow. That's what drives us."