The platform officially launched in May of 2003 as one of the first business-focused online social networks. In late 2002, Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn with a former college classmate, a former Fujitsu colleague, and two of his former colleagues. Hoffman was later promoted to executive vice president of PayPal. He was made responsible for the company's external relationships pertaining to business development, government, and payments infrastructure, among other areas. In 2000, Hoffman left to become the COO of PayPal. He subsequently became a member of the board of directors of PayPal as the company was being founded. In 1997, Hoffman co-founded his first company,. Following that, he joined Apple Computer, and then Fujitsu.

Career Beginningsĭeciding to pursue an entrepreneurial career after college, Hoffman landed an internship at the Napa Valley winery Inglenook. Hoffman subsequently went to the University of Oxford's Wolfson College, from which he graduated with a MSt in philosophy in 1993. He went on to attend Stanford University, earning his BS in cognitive science and symbolic systems. As a teen, Hoffman went to the Putney School in Vermont, where he studied epistemology and farmed maple syrup. Growing up, he was passionate about tabletop roleplaying games at the age of 12, he had his first paid job as an editor at the Oakland-based game company Chaosium. Reid Hoffman was born on Augin Palo Alto, California to William Jr. The Microsoft deal bought LinkedIn out at $192 per share so Reid's stake was worth $2.8 billion, pre-tax. When Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $29 billion in 2016, Reid owned 14.5 million shares of the company.

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