What Is Cameron Winklevoss' Net Worth?
Cameron Winklevoss is an American rower and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $2.8 billion. Cameron Winklevoss and his twin brother Tyler Winklevoss are often referred to interchangeably or as a single unit by the media. Today, both twins are well-known for their lucrative Bitcoin investments, although they had previously made headlines due to their well-known legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.
Years later, Tyler and Cameron claimed that Mark stole their idea to create Facebook. Eventually, Tyler and his brother took Facebook to court. They were eventually awarded a settlement that was initially worth $65 million but eventually was worth much more since a portion was pre-IPO Facebook stock.
The twins proceeded to use their Facebook settlement money to invest in Bitcoin, which proved to be a wise decision. Outside of his entrepreneurial career, Tyler is known for his athletic achievements. Along with his brother Cameron, he competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
They are also the founders of a Bitcoin lender called Block-Fi and a digital auction platform called Nifty Gateway. In March 2021, Block-Fi raised $350 million at a $3 billion valuation. That same month, a digital artist who goes by "Beeple" sold an NFT on Nifty Gateway for $69 million. In April 2021, Nifty Gateway was valued at $1 billion. Both Nifty Gateway and Block-Fi are owned by their umbrella holding company Gemini Space Station.
Early Life
Cameron Howard Winklevoss was born on August 21, 1981, in Southampton, New York. He grew up alongside his twin brother in Greenwich, Connecticut. Like many twins, the siblings developed an affinity for teamwork and cohesiveness from an early age.
Cameron was raised in an upper-class household. His father, Howard Winklevoss, was by that point an accomplished professor, mathematician, and consultant who used math equations to help predict eventualities for insurance companies and other financial organizations. Howard published a number of books on this brand of science and amassed a net worth of over $200 million.
During his childhood, Cameron enjoyed learning languages like Ancient Greek and Latin. He also displayed a talent for classical piano. Of course, both and his twin brother soon gravitated towards rowing. Because their high school did not have a rowing team, the twins co-founded their own team and started competing together. After finishing high school, Cameron attended Harvard College and studied economics. He eventually earned his A.B. and graduated in 2004. During his college years, Tyler became a member of the rowing team, the Porcellian Club, and the Hasty Pudding Club.
Cameron then went on to study at Oxford's Said Business School to complete graduate school. During his time at Oxford, Cameron once again joined the rowing team and became a Blue Coat. In 2010, he earned his MBA and graduated from Oxford.
(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Facebook Controversy
While attending Harvard, Cameron and his twin brother conceived of the idea of creating a social network that would help university students connect with each other. Another early member of the team was a student named Divya Narendra. Together, they began work on an early social network platform they called HarvardConnection (later rebranded as ConnectU).
The issues began when the Winklevosses and Narendra enlisted the help of another student named Mark Zuckerberg to help with the programming side of things. All of the evidence points to the fact that Zuckerberg agreed to help Cameron and his colleagues with the project. Further instant messages and emails suggest that Mark was continuously coming up with excuses as to why he hadn't finished the programming tasks.
Suddenly, Mark Zuckerberg went public with the fact that he had created his own social network called "The Facebook." The twins were immediately concerned – after all, Facebook was essentially identical to HarvardConnection. Although they tried to raise their concerns with the university, the Winklevosses were told to take the matter to court.
Facebook Settlement
After the university refused to get involved, ConnectU filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2004, alleging that Mark Zuckerberg had essentially stolen their idea. By 2008, the Winklevosses were awarded a total of $65 million, paid out as $20 million in cash plus a grant of pre-IPO Facebook stock that was worth $45 million at the time of the settlement. A number of other lawsuits followed, although the Winklevosses eventually agreed to call it quits and walk away with their seven-figure settlement.
Other Endeavors
Outside of their failed attempt to start a social media platform, Cameron and his brother have started several additional business ventures. In 2012, the twins launched Winklevoss Capital Management, an investment firm that provides funding to early-stage startups. In 2014, Tyler and Cameron started Gemini, a currency exchange company that specializes in digital assets.
Although Cameron and Tyler conduct most business activities as a pair, one clear expectation is a site called "Guest of a Guest." Cameron acted alone in this endeavor, creating the site alongside Rachelle Hruska. The site is a blog that focuses on parties and nightlife across America. Eventually, his stake was bought out by Hruska.
Bitcoin Fortune
Today, the twins are two of the largest and most vocal investors in Bitcoin on the planet. Together, they are believed to own approximately 1% of all Bitcoin in existence, which would equate to approximately 180,000 Bitcoins.
They made their first major Bitcoin purchase in 2013 when Tyler and Cameron spent $11 million of their own money to purchase 110,000 Bitcoins. At the time, a single Bitcoin was trading at $100. They have never sold a single coin. By December 2017, when a single Bitcoin was trading for $11,300, their investment was worth more than $1.2 billion, and they were crowned combined billionaires for the first time.
Roughly a year later, the price of a single Bitcoin had dropped to $6,000, and a few months later it was trading below $4,000. By late 2020, Bitcoin was once again trading at around $17,000 per coin, which allowed the brothers to re-enter billionaire status.
The brothers also own a large amount of Ethereum, and today, Gemini is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world.
In November 2020, Bitcoin had grown valuable enough for both brothers to be billionaires independently.
By early 2021, when Bitcoin topped $60,000, the brothers' combined net worth topped $6 billion for the first time.
Real Estate
In 2012, Tyler and Cameron purchased a modern mansion in Los Angeles for $18 million. The residence spans 8,000 square feet, and there are 5 bedrooms. Notable features include limestone floors, a built-in wet bar, a "state-of-the-art" media room, and a six-car garage. Solid glass walls overlook the city and a swimming pool in the immediate vicinity. In 2015, it was reported that the twins were leasing out their property after owning it for just 3 years. However, it quickly became clear that the Winklevosses were targeting the upper echelons of society with monthly fees of $150,000.
