This is about Jan Koum, an ordinary guy from the Kyiv region who managed to live out his “American dream” and create an app used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Since he is originally from Ukraine, Diaspora.ua shares his story.
Jan Koum was born on February 24, 1976, in Kyiv to a Jewish family but grew up in Fastiv, in the Kyiv region. There, he attended secondary school, enjoyed sports, and began taking an interest in modern technology — something that, at the time, schoolchildren in Ukraine could only read about and dream of.
One of his former teachers, speaking about her outstanding student in an interview, recalled that he once suggested that everyone “chip in one ruble and buy a computer for the school.” Of course, that didn’t happen.
When Jan was 16, in 1992, he emigrated to the United States with his mother and grandmother. His father, a construction worker by trade, stayed behind in Fastiv.
Although Jan Koum is now one of the most successful and wealthiest figures in the IT industry, his path to success wasn’t easy. At the beginning of his life in the U.S., things were quite difficult. He settled in Mountain View, California, with his mother and grandmother. His mother worked as a nanny, while Jan took on part-time cleaning jobs at a grocery store while attending school. Despite their efforts, money was tight, and the family had to rely on social support and food stamps.
Perhaps these hardships were what motivated Jan to get on his feet as quickly as possible in his new country. He quickly taught himself English and learned programming on his own — not surprising, given that he was living in one of the cities of Silicon Valley and had a natural talent and interest in the field. Eventually, he was accepted to San Jose State University.
Just a year later, however, he dropped out after landing his dream job at Yahoo. While working there, he gained hands-on experience in the internet industry and built valuable connections — all without a diploma. One of the major benefits of this job was the salary: Jan managed to save up half a million dollars.
Just enough to start his own business – all he needed was a startup idea. And that idea came in 2009, when Jan realized the opportunities opening up with the growing use of the iPhone and the App Store. Together with his close friend Brian Acton, he created the mobile application WhatsApp – a replacement for SMS that allowed for quick and convenient communication.
At first, the app didn’t gain much attention, and Jan was on the verge of giving up. But soon, it achieved tremendous success! In less than five years, WhatsApp had over 400 million users – more than any other similar app. Its simple, user-friendly philosophy and accessibility (it was initially free, and later cost just $1) made it the most convenient messenger available.
Jan Koum wasn’t the owner of WhatsApp for long: in 2014, Facebook (led by Mark Zuckerberg) acquired the app for $19 billion in an effort to eliminate a growing competitor. The developers benefited greatly from the deal — they became billionaires (Jan’s net worth reached $9 billion at the time) and stayed on as the heads of the company. Jan Koum served as CEO and even joined Facebook’s Board of Directors.
However, due to disagreements over Zuckerberg’s policies regarding user data privacy, Brian Acton left first, followed by Jan Koum in 2018. Both stepped away from WhatsApp and Facebook.
Many of Jan Koum’s supporters were concerned after his departure and wanted to know what he would do next. But Jan, with the calm confidence of a billionaire, said he would take up collecting Porsche cars. And indeed, he settled in the town of Santa Clara and became passionate about collecting Porsches.
Jan Koum is not only one of the wealthiest tech developers but also a philanthropist who donates large sums to charity. According to Forbes, between 2019 and 2020, he donated around $140 million to Jewish charitable organizations in the U.S., Eastern Europe, and Israel. “This is one of the largest donations in the Jewish world,” Forbes emphasized. For example, he contributed $17 million to the European Jewish Association — practically covering its entire annual budget.
Notably, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the European Jewish Association launched a broad relief campaign in March 2022 to provide housing, clothing, food, and medical aid to Ukrainian refugees. Another organization, the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, which received $10.6 million from Koum, created a large fleet of ambulances to evacuate Ukrainians from combat zones.
At the same time, Jan Koum does not publicize his charitable donations — in fact, he actively avoids attention and insists on keeping them private. He has even asked the media not to call him a philanthropist. Similarly, he avoids being labeled an entrepreneur, emphasizing that he was driven by the desire to create something useful, not to make money.
EMPR
Tags: Tech Ukraine
