Michael Saylor’s bold embrace of Bitcoin has rewritten the rules of corporate strategy. Saylor has not only secured his company’s future but also created the first Bitcoin thousandaire publicly traded company in history, boosting Michael Saylor net worth significantly.
About Michael Saylor
Michael J. Saylor, an American entrepreneur and business magnate, is widely recognized as the CEO of MicroStrategy, a leading business intelligence and analytics firm.
Born on February 4, 1965, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Saylor’s upbringing in a middle-class family shaped his journey toward success. Growing up on various Air Force bases worldwide due to his father’s service, Saylor developed a global perspective from an early age. His academic pursuits led him to enroll at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1983, where he earned a double major in aeronautics and astronautics, alongside science, technology, and society.
During his time at MIT, Saylor’s path intersected with Sanju Bansal, a fellow member of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity, who would later become his co-founder at MicroStrategy.
“He is also the founder of Alarm.com (ALRM), named inventor on 48+ patents, & author of the book “The Mobile Wave”. He founded the Saylor Academy (saylor.org), a non-profit that has provided free education to over 1.8 million students.”
Source: https://www.michael.com
Saylor’s Career Origins
Saylor’s entrepreneurial journey began during his college years at MIT, where he studied aerospace engineering and computer science.
In 1988, Saylor worked as an internal consultant at DuPont. During this time, he focused on crafting computer models aimed at assisting the company in forecasting market fluctuations. These simulations notably forecasted an impending recession across several of DuPont’s primary markets, particularly in anticipation of the downturn expected in 1990.
Using the funds from DuPont, in 1989, Saylor founded MicroStrategy with Sanju Bansal, his MIT fraternity brother, who served as the company’s COO. Michael graduated from MIT with a double major in aeronautics and astronautics; science, technology, and society.
MicroStrategy
“Our mission is to make every enterprise a more intelligent enterprise.
We provide powerful software solutions and expert services that empower every individual with actionable intelligence.“
– Source: About Us (microstrategy.com)
In the early years, MicroStrategy faced challenges typical of many startups, including financial difficulties and fierce competition in the software industry. However, Saylor‘s vision and determination drove the company forward, and by the late 1990s, MicroStrategy had become a prominent player in the business intelligence market.
The turning point in Saylor’s career came during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. MicroStrategy experienced rapid growth, and Saylor’s wealth soared as the company’s stock price surged. At the height of the dot-com bubble, Saylor’s net worth peaked, making him a multimillionaire.
However, MicroStrategy faced a significant setback in 2000 when the company became embroiled in an accounting scandal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused MicroStrategy of inflating its revenue and earnings through improper accounting practices.
“The Commission alleges that from the time of its initial public offering in June 1998 through March 2000, MicroStrategy, a Vienna, Virginia-based software company, materially overstated its revenues and earnings from the sale of software and services contrary to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The company’s public financial reports during this time showed positive net income. In fact, the Commission alleges, MicroStrategy should have reported net losses from 1997 through the present.”
– Source
In the aftermath of the accounting scandal, Saylor shifted his focus to rebuilding MicroStrategy’s reputation and restoring investor confidence. Under his leadership, the company implemented stricter financial controls and refocused its business strategy.
Saylor Introduction to Bitcoin
Despite his success in the technology industry, Saylor initially expressed skepticism about Bitcoin. Like many traditional investors and business leaders, he viewed Bitcoin with suspicion, questioning its legitimacy and long-term viability as an asset.
Saylor’s “Lightbulb” Moment
Eric Weiss shares the moment that Michael understood the value proposition of Bitcoin:
“So you’re looking for a solution how do you preserve the toils of yours and your employee’s labor and everything that you’re trying to do and preserve… You just feel like you’re on a treadmill… He [Michael Saylor] evaluated all the alternatives, and I was there to help make sure that Bitcoin was one of the alternatives… Answer whatever questions with as much bias as I could foster…”
Bitcoin Thousandaire: Michael Saylor Net Worth
MicroStrategy stands out as the pioneering public company to allocate Bitcoin to its treasury reserves, marking a significant milestone in corporate finance history. Today, MicroStrategy maintains a formidable position with a holding of 190,000 bitcoin, establishing itself as one of the foremost bitcoin holders worldwide.
Michael Saylor revealed in October 2020 that he purchased 17,732 bitcoin at an average price of $9,882 per coin, amounting to a total investment of $175 million at the time. This single purchase is now worth over $900 million at todays market price. With this timely investment, Michael Saylor boasts a formidable net worth of $2.1 billion, as reported by Forbes.
“He fell from the billionaire ranks after questionable accounting led to a restatement of financial results and the dot-com bust crashed the stock. He’s a billionaire again thanks to timely bitcoin investments.”
You can track MicroStrategy buy marks and tweets at SaylorTracker.com.
