What Is Tim Armstrong's Net Worth and Salary?
Tim Armstrong is an American businessman who has a net worth of $250 million. The former President of Google America, Tim Armstrong, took over as CEO and Chairman of AOL, Inc. in 2009. Tim was instrumental in selling AOL to Verizon in 2015 for $4.4 billion. He remained at Verizon until 2018. Despite the fact that Verizon eventually wrote down 50% of the AOL acquisition value, Armstrong was paid $60 million when he left the company. During his time leading AOL, he earned a base salary of $1 million but would typically receive around $5 million in bonuses and other compensation.
AOL Stock Earnings
In 2010, Tim owned 1% of AOL's total outstanding shares, roughly 1 million total shares. Believing the company was drastically undervalued, he used his own funds to aggressively buy more AOL shares. For example, in 2011, he paid $10 million of his own money to buy 500,000 more shares. Armstrong bought another 500,000 shares a year later for $12 million. At the time of the AOL acquisition by Verizon in 2019, Tim owned 5.5 million shares. Verizon paid $50 a share when it acquired AOL. That worked out to a $275 million pre-tax windfall for Tim. When combined with the tens of millions he earned in compensation over the years at AOL and the $60 million he earned when he left Verizon, Tim earned at least $400 million at AOL.
Early Life
Timothy Armstrong was born on December 21, 1970, in Riverside, Connecticut. He attended Connecticut College, a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut, where he double-majored in Economics and Sociology. While a student, he was on the school's rowing team and coached the women's ice hockey team. Armstrong graduated and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993.
After college, Tim established a financial newspaper in Boston called "Beginnings in Boston." The newspaper provided advice to college graduates who were about to embark on their careers. In 1994, he ceased publication of the newspaper to acquire "Square Deal," a Harvard Square newspaper whose chief editor had recently died. He soon sold that newspaper and began working as director of advertising sales for the market intelligence company "International Data Group."
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Business Career
In 1995, Armstrong was appointed marketing director for Starwave, an entertainment and news software and website company based in Seattle, Washington. After Disney bought Starwave in 1988, Tim served as their director of integrated sales and marketing. Tim secured his first million-dollar online advertising deal while working for Starwave – with the American operator of healthcare facilities HCA Healthcare, Inc.
In 2000, Tim served as vice president of strategic partners at the youth-focused web portal Snowball, a news and gaming company based in New York. That same year, he was appointed vice president of advertising sales for American technology company Google. He then filled the role of president at Google Americas and, in 2009, Chief Executive Officer of AOL.
In 2007, Armstrong founded Patch with Warren Webster and Jon Brod. An American news and information platform based on a lead reporter in each community, each local Patch website allows users to post questions and news tips specific to their geographic location. In 2009, AOL bought Patch for approximately $7 million.
Tim assisted in rebranding AOL, turning it into a privately traded company that focused on original content and prominent advertisers.
In his role at AOL, Armstrong acquired "The Huffington Post," "Engadget," and "TechCrunch."
Tim was instrumental in negotiating AOL's 2015 acquisition by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion. He departed Verizon in 2018.
New Endeavors
Tim is the founder and chief executive officer of Flowcode, a graphical programming tool that allows the development of electromechanical systems within minutes, helping business owners build and manage their businesses better. Simplifying a previously complicated procedure, Flowcode has a built-in data recorder which makes testing and debugging procedures more understandable and more user-friendly when it comes to developing highly functional programs through instant conversions and real-time data.
Boards
During his career, Tim has served on several prominent company boards, including the Priceline Group, Inc., the Advertising Research Foundation, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Paley Center for Media, Teach for America, Wheels Up, Inc., the Waterside School in Connecticut, and the IAB Education Foundation.
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Extracurricular
Tim is a trustee for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation. He also owns the National Lacrosse League's indoor lacrosse team, "The Boston Blazers," based in Boston, Massachusetts.
In 2009, Armstrong and American investment banker William Hambrecht founded the United Football League.
Accolades
In 2015, Tim was awarded the Life Achievement Award at the Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. In 2013, the American non-profit organization The Advertising Council awarded Tim their annual Public Service Award.
Personal Life
Tim and his wife, Nancy, have a son and two daughters. In 2022, after all three of Armstrong's children had been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Nancy became executive producer on the documentary "The Disruptors," which follows five families turning their struggles with ADHD into strengths.
While going through the diagnostic ADHD procedures concerning his children, Tim realized that he had been living with all the same symptoms and was informed by the doctor that ADHD is often genetic. He has publicly shared that he manages the symptoms of his ADHD by meditating every morning, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and making sure he gets enough sleep.
