Ukrainian WhatsApp founder grew up poor, was rejected by Facebook but now worth billions
dailystar.co.ukWhatsApp founder Jan Koum came from a wealthy background.However, from escaping the USSR to growing up on benefits, the billionaire tech entrepreneur's life is a true rags-to-riches story.Koum, who oversaw the sale of WhatsApp to Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook—a.k.a.
Meta—in a multibillion pound deal in 2014 before leaving the company over privacy concerns, came to the US at a young age as an immigrant from the former Soviet Union.Today, he's seemingly retired, spending his time growing a huge and expensive California real estate empire while collecting cars and playing ultimate frisbee.
But his roots were very humble. Born and raised in a small village near Kyiv, Ukraine, Koum grew up in a house without hot water.
His parents—a housewife and a construction manager—rarely let him talk on the phone in case it was being spied on by the government.After facing antisemitic prejudice and a poor economic future, Koum and his mother emigrated to the US when he was 16, taking Soviet notebooks with them to save money on school supplies.In the US, Koum cleaned the floor of a supermarket while his mum worked as a babysitter.
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