What Is Jonah Peretti's Net Worth and Salary?
Jonah Peretti is an American internet entrepreneur who has a net worth of $15 million. Jonah Peretti is best known for founding the popular digital media company BuzzFeed. At its peak, BuzzFeed's private market valuation was $1.7 billion. The company went public via SPAC in March 2021 at a valuation of $720 million. Peretti owns 6,437,416 shares of BuzzFeed, roughly 4% of the total outstanding shares. At the company's $1.7 billion valuation, his stake was worth around $85 million. At its peak as a public company, his shares were worth $60 million. By November 2023, BZFD had lost 97% of its share price value and was at risk of being de-listed from the NASDAQ. The stock price had fallen from $10 a share to around $0.30 per share. At $0.30, his shares were worth $1.9 million pre-tax.
Peretti's foray into the digital world gained significant attention with his involvement in the creation of "The Huffington Post" in 2005, alongside Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer. "The Huffington Post" quickly grew into one of the most influential and widely read news websites, showcasing Peretti's knack for combining traditional news with the emergent blogging platform. His success with "The Huffington Post," which was later acquired by AOL in 2011, marked him as a forward-thinking media strategist.
However, it is his founding of BuzzFeed in 2006 that truly encapsulates his vision and impact on digital media. BuzzFeed started as a viral lab focusing on tracking viral content, but under Peretti's leadership, it evolved into a global media company known for its innovative content mix, including quizzes, listicles, and more serious long-form journalism. His understanding of social media dynamics and the importance of shareable content has been central to BuzzFeed's growth and influence.
Peretti's approach at BuzzFeed has been groundbreaking in understanding how content circulates online and how to harness that for media consumption. His strategies for leveraging social media platforms and optimizing content for them have been studied and emulated across the industry. Under his guidance, BuzzFeed has expanded its reach with ventures into video content, established BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, and experimented with various forms of digital storytelling.
Early Life
Jonah H. Peretti was born on January 1, 1974, in Contra Costa County, California. Raised in Oakland in a family with Jewish and Italian roots, Jonah attended the University of California after graduating from high school. During his college years, he studied environmental studies and graduated with a degree in 1996. During this period, he also taught computer science classes at a secondary school. Later, Peretti attended MIT and completed a postgraduate degree.
While at MIT, he went viral after an email exchange with Nike corporate executives who declined his request to print "sweatshop" on a custom pair of shoes. He also earned viral infamy after launching the popular website BlackPeopleLoveUs.com and through the "New York Rejection Line" project, which he created with his sister Chelsea Peretti.
Career
In 2005, Peretti co-founded "The Huffington Post" with several business people and journalists, including Arianna Huffington. In 2011, Jonah left the organization after it was acquired by AOL for $315 million.
During his time at "The Huffington Post," Peretti played with the idea of creating a "bored at work network," which he predicted would cater to an audience even larger than that of the biggest cable networks.
In 2006, he founded BuzzFeed, which was originally intended to be an "internet popularity contest." Despite its focus on funny tidbits of information and internet memes, BuzzFeed is also a legitimate news organization that often breaks stories before anyone else. After leaving "The Huffington Post," Jonah made BuzzFeed his prime focus.
BuzzFeed Finances
Understandably, Jonah's net worth is strongly linked to the financial performance of BuzzFeed. In 2012, the site raised $35 million. The company raised another $50 million in 2014. At that time, BuzzFeed was valued at $1 billion. In 2016, Buzzfeed raised another $200 million, this time in the form of an investment from NBC Universal, at a valuation of $1.7 billion. That year, the company posted annual revenues of $260 million.
Comcast invested an additional sum total of $400 million into Buzzfeed over the years. According to Jonah himself, in 2018, the company generated over $100 million in revenue "from business lines that didn't even exist in 2017."
In January 2019, Buzzfeed was forced to lay off 15% of its staff due to underperformance despite reaching $300 million in annual revenue. In January 2020, the company reported a $12 million loss.
Buzzfeed Stock
According to his most recent company filing, as of this writing Jonah Peretti owns 6,437,416 shares of BZFD. When the company initially went public via SPAC, those shares were worth as much as $60 million. When the stock price hit $1.5 in July 2022, his shares were worth a little less than $10 million on paper pre-tax. By November 2023, BZFD had lost 97% of its share price value. having fallen from $10 a share to around $0.30 per share. At $0.30, his shares were worth $1.9 million, on paper pre-tax.
Paul Zimmerman/Getty Image
Real Estate
In 2020, Jonah spent $5.2 million on a large home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. He and his wife, blogger Andrea Harner, previously owned a smaller home in the same area that was worth around $2 million. Their new home was previously owned by Dave Keuning, the guitarist/songwriter of the band The Killers. The well-known entertainment couple Chelsea Peretti (his sister) and Jordan Peele also live in the area.
Spanning just over 5,000 square feet, the property features grey oak floorboards, walls of glass, and white marble countertops. There is also a private balcony, a walk-in closet, and a resort-style bath. Outside, the property takes a decidedly tropical style with plenty of lush plants and an infinity pool enclosed by an exotic wood deck. The residence also provides extraordinary views of the surrounding hills and LA's skyline.
Personal Life
Jonah is married to Andrea Harner. They have twin sons. Jonah and director Jordan Peele are brothers-in-law due to Jordan's 2016 marriage to Chelsea Peretti.
