Jerry Yang

Internet mogul Jerry Yang earned his fortune and business fame by founding search engine Yahoo! in 1994 with fellow Stanford Ph.D. student David Filo. He served as CEO of Yahoo! Inc. for 13 years before stepping down in 2008 and still serves on Yahoo’s board of directors. According to Forbes, Yang has a current net worth of $1.1 billion and is No. 375 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans.

Jerry Yang is a graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering. He got his business start in 1994 when he created an internet website with fellow student David Filo called “Jerry and Dave’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” This initial website was a directory of other websites and soon became known as “Yahoo.” Realizing the popularity and business potential of the website they had created, Yang and Filo left their doctoral programs at Stanford to co-found Yahoo! Inc. in April 1995.

Yahoo! started off as a web portal with a directory that provided an innumerable amount of products and services for online activities. Now, it is one of the leading internet brands, has partnerships with telecommunications companies and is one of the most trafficked networks on the internet. Jerry Yang was recognized for his work with Yahoo! in 1999 when he was named to the MIT Technology Review TR100 as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under age 35.

13 years after Yahoo’s inception, The Wall Street Journal announced that Jerry Yang would step down as CEO of the company. Today, he remains active as a member of Yahoo’s board of directors.

Also of recent note, Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki, gifted $75 million to Stanford University to build the “Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building,” a multi-disciplinary research, teaching and lab building, the first to be constructed on Stanford’s new Science and Engineering Quad. Jerry Yang is available for speaking engagements, hosting, and corporate appearances.

TO WORK WITH JERRY YANG: Business Titan Jerry Yang can be hired for endorsements and events in roles such as public speaker, autograph signings, SMT’S, and public relation campaigns.