Vinod Khosla Net Worth - Pulptastic

Vinod Khosla is a successful Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a net worth of $6 billion. He founded Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm, and co-founded Sun Microsystems, a technology company.

What Is Vinod Khosla’s Net Worth?

Vinod Khosla is a successful Indian-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a net worth of $6 billion. He founded Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm, and co-founded Sun Microsystems, a technology company.

The Controversy of Martin’s Beach

Khosla’s purchase of 53 acres of land adjacent to Martin’s Beach for $32 million in 2008 caused controversy due to the access trail being the only way to reach the beach by land. The previous owners allowed public access to the trail for 100 years, but Khosla began locking a gate to the trail in 2010, blocking access to the beach. This has resulted in a legal battle that remains unresolved.

In early 2020, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Khosla on behalf of the California State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.

Early Life and Education

Vinod Khosla was born in New Delhi, India, on January 28, 1955. He attended Mount St Mary’s School for elementary school and developed an interest in technology after reading about the founding of Intel. Khosla earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT Delhi, where he started a computer programming club and operated the computer center during a staff strike. He also tried to start a soy milk company to serve Indian consumers. Khosla earned a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and was initially rejected from Stanford Graduate School of Business due to lack of work experience. He eventually convinced the admissions staff to accept him and earned an MBA in 1980.

Vinod Khosla’s Career in Tech

Vinod Khosla became the Chief Financial Officer of Daisy Systems after earning his MBA. He left Daisy Systems to create a company that made general purpose computers and approached fellow Stanford alum Scott McNealy to help launch and guide the small technology business, which was to be called Sun Microsystems. Khosla served as Sun Microsystems’ CEO and the company was profitable within its first year. Sun Microsystems IPO’d in 1986 and experienced a surge in business during the dotcom boom. The company retracted in the bubble’s aftermath, but recovered slowly and was eventually acquired by Oracle Corporation for $7.4 billion in January 2010.

Vinod Khosla’s Career in Venture Capital

Vinod Khosla became a general partner at Kleiner Perkins in 1986, where he managed investments in technologies. He also invested in SKS Microfinance, a company that provided small loans to underprivileged women in rural India. In 2004, he left Kleiner Perkins to establish Khosla Ventures, which manages over $15 billion in assets and focuses on areas such as semiconductors, robotics, and sustainable energy. Khosla Ventures has incubated companies such as QuantumScape, LanzaTech, and Impossible Foods. Vinod aims to use technology and innovation to “reinvent societal infrastructure” and presented a video showcasing portfolio companies that were reinventing areas such as infrastructure, transportation, health, and artificial intelligence.

Vinod Khosla’s Philanthropic Activities

Vinod Khosla married his childhood sweetheart, Neeru, in 1980, and they have four children. Neeru is the co-founder of the non-profit organization CK-12 Foundation, which is dedicated to increasing access to high-quality K-12 STEM education materials.

Khosla was honored with the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award in 2000, and in 2007, he received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for Northern California.

He co-founded the Silicon Valley non-profit organization The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), and he is a member of the Breakthrough Energy Ventures board. In April 2021, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Khosla tweeted that he is willing to fund hospitals in India that need funding to import bulk planeloads of oxygen or supplies into India to increase supply. He stated that he would be coordinating grants through the donation platform the Give India foundation.

Khosla is a Democrat, and in 2013, he hosted a fundraising dinner for Barack Obama at his Portola Valley home. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

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