BY AGENCY REPORT
Jim Clark
The technology world and the Internet would be incomplete without mentioning people like Jim Clark who is one of the first people to create a company that was entirely built on the platforms.
The Silicon Valley legend made it big when Netscape, the web browser company he co-founded with Marc Andreessen, went public in 1995.
Twenty years later, Clark is now worth an estimated $1.5bn (N285bn), thanks in part to large timely investments in tech companies like Apple, Facebook, and Twitter.
As expected, Clark lives the lifestyle you’d expect of a billionaire: multiple mansions, racing yachts, private jets, and a model wife.
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A brief story about Jim Clark
Clark, 70, is an American entrepreneur and computer scientist. He founded several notable Silicon Valley technology companies, including Silicon Graphics, Inc., Netscape Communications Corporation, myCFO and Healtheon.
His research work in computer graphics led to the development of systems for the fast rendering of three-dimensional computer images.
Born in Plainview, Texas, Clark endured a difficult childhood. He dropped out of high school after being suspended, and spent four years in the Navy where he was introduced to electronics.
But he chose not to give up.
He began taking night courses at Tulane University’s University College where, despite his lack of a high school diploma, he was able to earn enough credits to be admitted to the University of New Orleans.
There, he earned his Bachelor’s and a Master’s degrees in physics, followed by a PhD in computer science from the University of Utah in 1974.
He’s a wise investor
In 2009, a whopping 332 people were wiped off the ‘Forbes Billionaires List’, largely due to the financial crisis that began in the fall of 2008. Among the casualties was Clark.
However, after a few years ‘in exile’ in the realm of nine-figure fortunes, he came back on the list, cracking the $1bn (N190bn)threshold, thanks to super successful bets on some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies.
An old Silicon Valley hand, he began using his technical insights and deep pockets to muscle his money into some of the most established social media and technology companies.
Aside investment in technology giant, Apple, the Netscape co-founder also invested $40m (N7.6bn) in Facebook and $30m (N5.7bn) in Twitter.
Luxury lifestyle
Sailing is perhaps his number one passion. His latest watercraft is the new 100-foot monohull sailboat he named “Comanche.” Though he hasn’t shared how much the boat cost to build, he told the Australian Associated Press, “Boats of this type are sort of like building a Formula 1 car. They are expensive.”
His first yacht was “Hyperion,” which he customised to essentially be a computer on the water. The 157-foot J-class yacht, which has since been sold for an undisclosed amount, has 22 touchscreens and a total 40 miles of wiring.
He also owns two other J-class yachts: 136-foot “Hanuman” and 295-foot “Athena.” He listed them for a combined $113m (N21.5bn) in 2012.
To celebrate his 70th birthday last year, he threw a three-day party at the luxurious Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic. The soiree included a live performance from Jason Mraz.
Clark certainly has the real estate portfolio you’d expect from a billionaire. He recently paid $37m (N7bn) for the Upper East Side townhouse in New York that previously belonged to Listerine heiress Bunny Mellon.
Last month, the New York Post revealed that the Netscape billionaire was the mystery buyer of Ron Howard’s Armonk, N.Y. home, which he paid $37.5m (N7.1bn) for in July 2014. The home has plenty of luxurious amenities, including a pool, sports facility, barn, greenhouse, and observatory.
In 1999, Clark paid $11m (N2.1bn) for the opulent Il Palmetto estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Originally built in 1930 by noted architect Maurice Fatio, the mansion has been extensively renovated by Clark.
He also previously owned a 6,200-square-foot apartment at Miami’s posh Setai Resort and Residences. He sold the penthouse for $21.5m (N4.1bn) in 2011.
But homes aren’t the only things this billionaire collects. A longtime wine connoisseur, he has a collection that’s rumoured to contain as many as 40,000 bottles, mostly from the Burgundy region of France. “I may have gotten overly enthusiastic about it,” Clark reportedly said. “I have more wine than I can ever drink.” In November 2014, he sold a selection of wines that fetched nearly $2.6m (N494m) at an auction.
He also has an extensive art collection and is rumoured to own pieces by such big names as Monet, Matisse, Picasso, and Van Gogh.
He owns a Gulfstream jet, which he uses for both business and pleasure.
According to a particularly memorable account from Michael Lewis’ book “The New New Thing,” Clark owned a McDonnell Douglas helicopter that he learned to fly himself. According to Lewis, Clark loved the helicopter so much he had considered buying the company that made it.
However, he is a noted philanthropist as well. In 1999, he donated $150m (N28.5bn) to fund a biomedical engineering centre at Stanford, a donation that remains one of the largest gifts the university had ever received. He also makes yearly donations to New York’s Perlman Music Programme.
Sources: businessinsider.com, forbes.com, en.wikipedia.org
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