What is Suroosh Alvi's net worth?
Suroosh Alvi is a Canadian journalist who has a net worth of $50 million. Suroosh Alvi was born in Toronto, Canada, and went on to graduate from McGill University with a degree in Philosophy. In the mid-90s, just after graduating, he co-founded a punk magazine called, VICE. His co-founders were Shane Smith and Gavin McInnes. The magazine's focus expanded over time. The VICE company has since grown to include film, news, music, and publishing arms.
As a journalist for VICE, Suroosh Alvi has reported major stories from the Congo and the Gaza Strip, as well as producing a number of award-winning documentaries, including "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" and "Reincarnated". In 2002, he launched VICE Music, a record label representing both established and up-and-coming artists. The label, which has featured such artists as Snoop Lion, Bloc Party, and Chromeo, has sold nearly 7 million albums to date. VICE also has a series of web channels, which show 60 original video series, as well as a publishing department.
Vice Valuations and Bankruptcy
Below is a history of Vice's funding rounds and resulting valuations:
- 2011: $50 million investment by WPP, The Raine Group, and MTV founder Tom Freston
- Valuation: Estimated around $200 million
- 2013: $70 million investment by 21st Century Fox for a 5% stake
- Valuation: $1.4 billion
- 2014: $250 million investment by A&E Networks for a 10% stake
- Valuation: $2.5 billion
- 2015: $200 million investment by Disney for a 10% stake
- Valuation: $2 billion (due to a restructuring of A&E's stake)
- 2017: $450 million investment by TPG Growth for an undisclosed stake
- Valuation: $5.7 billion
Both Suroosh and Shane owned 28% of Vice after the 2017, $5.7 billion valuation funding round. So at that point Suroosh Alvi's net worth on paper was $1.5 billion.
In March 2014, Shane Smiith announced that Vice was potentially considering going public down the road. He also claimed if that happened, Vice would seek a $29 billion valuation. At that level, Suroosh Alvi net worth would have been $8 billion.
In late April 2023, it was reported that Vice was potentially on the verge of going bankrupt.