Charles Simonyi is a tech billionaire with a net worth of $6.9 billion.
His fortune stems from his original shares in Microsoft and his technology and software enterprise Intentional Software, which Microsoft later bought.
He is the owner of the SKAT yacht and is still active in the tech world.
| Name: | Charles Simonyi |
| Net Worth: | $6.9 Billion |
| Source of Wealth: | Microsoft/ Intentional Software |
| Born: | 1948 |
| Country: | Hungary/America |
| Yacht: | (Ex) SKAT |
Charles Simonyi Net Worth
Charles Simonyi has a net worth of $6 billion according to Forbes. As an early employee of Microsoft, Simonyi held several stock options that made him incredibly wealthy.
He became one of Microsofts highest ranking developers and accrued more than $1 billion in stock.
The Simonyi residence is located in Medina, Washington, named “Villa Simony.” It is a modern house designed by architect Wendell Lovett.
Simony is a lover of art and displays his painting collection by Roy Lichtenstein and Victor Vasarely in his home.
He was the owner of the superyacht SKAT, a modern and advanced vessel launched in 2001. The yacht was designed to be a floating home away from home, and Simonyi spent for six months of the year.
He sold SKAT in November 2021 and is currently building a new and larger yacht with Lürssen.
He also owns a private jet, a Dassault Falcon 7X model. The jet was delivered in 2007 and is styled like his house and yacht.
Background
Charles Simonyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1948. His father was a prize-winning professor of electrical engineering and created the first Hungarian particle accelerator.
Simonyi took an interest in software and computers when he worked as a night watchman at a computer factory while in secondary school. He learned how to program from one of the company’s computer engineers.
By the time he had left school, he had learned how to build compilers and sold one of them to the government. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.S in Engineering Mathematics and Statistics in 1972, Butler Lampson recruited him to Xerox.
At Xerox, he worked with other prominent computer scientists on one of the first personal computers. He also holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford.
Personal Life
Charles Simonyi is married to Lisa Persdotter, the daughter of a Swedish billionaire. The couple has two children, Lilian Simonyi and Livia Suzanne Simonyi. He dated Martha Stewart for 15 years until 2008.
Business
Simonyi is one of the earliest employees of Microsoft. He is responsible for creating the Microsoft Office Suite. Excel is one of the several applications that he created while with Microsoft.
He began working at the company in 1981 and headed the company’s application software group for 20 years until 2002 when he left to create his own company, Intentional Software.
Intentional Software Corporation set out with the mission to make the world’s information more accessible.
Intentional Software develops productivity apps. In 2017, he returned to Microsoft when the company bought Intentional Software for an undisclosed amount.
Space Tourist
Simonyi has always been interested in being a space tourist and is one of the few space tourists to make a trip twice. He flew aboard the Soyuz Spacecraft, where he made a trip to the International Space Station with two Russian astronauts.
Philanthropy
Simonyi has been an active philanthropist, supporting science, education, and the arts with the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, a not-for-profit in Seattle.
