Sean Parker
Encyclopedia
Sean Parker is an American technology businessman and entrepreneur. He co-founded Napster
, Plaxo
, Causes, and Airtime, and was Facebook
's founding president. His net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.
As a teenager, Parker’s hobbies were hacking
and programming. One night, while hacking into the network of a Fortune 500
company, Parker was unable to logout after his frustrated father unplugged his computer. Because his IP address
was exposed, F.B.I. agents tracked down the 16-year-old, showed up at his doorstep and seized his computer. Since Parker was a minor, he was only sentenced to community service.
in Fairfax County, Virginia
for two years before transferring to Chantilly High School
in 1996 for his junior and senior years. While there, Parker wrote a letter to the school administration and persuaded them to count the time he spent coding in the computer lab as a foreign language class. As a result, towards the end of Parker’s senior year at Chantilly, he was mostly writing code and starting companies. He graduated in 1998. While still in high school, he interned for Mark Pincus
(the current CEO of Zynga
) at Pincus's Washington D.C. startup FreeLoader. He won the Virginia state computer science fair for developing a Web crawler
, and was recruited by the C.I.A.. By his senior year of high school, Parker was earning more than $80,000 a year through various projects, enough to convince his parents to allow him to skip college and pursue a career as an entrepreneur.
As a child, Parker was an avid reader, which was the beginning of his lifelong autodidactism. Despite his lack of formal education, Parker is considered a "genius." He considers his time at Napster
to be his college education, calling it "Napster University," since he became well-versed in intellectual property
law, corporate finance, and entrepreneurship.
over the internet, where the two bonded over topics like theoretical physics
and hacking. A few years later, Fanning and Parker co-founded Napster
, a free file-sharing service for music. Parker raised the intial $50,000, and they launched Napster in June 1999. Within a year, the service had tens of millions of users. Napster was opposed by recording labels, the Recording Industry Association of America
, and the heavy metal band Metallica
. Lawsuits
by various industry associations eventually shut down the service. Napster has been called the fastest growing business of all time, is credited with revolutionizing the music industry and served as a precursor to iTunes
.
, an online address book and social networking service that integrated with Microsoft Outlook
. Plaxo was one of the first products to build virality
into its launch, and that earned it 20 million users. Plaxo was an early social networking tool, which would later influence the growth of companies like LinkedIn
, Zynga
and Facebook
. Two years after founding Plaxo, Parker was ousted by the company’s financiers, Sequoia Capital
and Ram Shriram
, over unspecified reasons which Plaxo reportedly hired private investigators to acquire.
Facebook
In 2004, Parker saw a site called "Thefacebook" on the computer of his roommate’s girlfriend, who was a student at Stanford. Parker had experience in the social networking space as an early advisor to Friendster
and its founder Jonathan Abrams, for which he was given a small amount of stock in 2003." Parker met with Mark Zuckerberg
, and a few months later, joined the five month old company as its founding president
. According to Peter Thiel
, Facebook’s first investor, Sean Parker was the first to see potential in the company to be "really big," and that "if Mark ever had any second thoughts, Sean was the one who cut that off."
As president, Parker brought on Thiel as Facebook’s first investor. Within the initial round of funding, he negotiated for Zuckerberg to retain three of Facebook’s five board
seats. This gave Zuckerberg control of the company, allowing Facebook
the freedom to remain a private company. Additionally, Parker is said to have championed Facebook’s clean user interface
and developed its photo-sharing function. Zuckerberg notes that "Sean was pivotal in helping Facebook transform from a college project into a real company."
During a party in 2005, police entered and searched a vacation home Parker was renting and found cocaine. Parker was arrested on suspicion of possession
but not charged. This event was subsequently used by Facebook investors to pressure Parker into resigning as company president. Even after stepping down, Parker continued to remain involved with Facebook’s growth and meet regularly with Zuckerberg. The event was later dramatized in The Social Network
.
, a European
streaming music service and Parker sent an email to Daniel Ek
, Spotify’s founder.
The pair traded emails, and in 2010, Parker invested $15 million in Spotify
. Parker, who currently serves on Spotify’s board, negotiated with Warner
and Universal
, and in July 2011, Spotify announced its U.S. launch. At Facebook’s f8 conference, Parker announced a partnership between Facebook and Spotify, which allowed users to share their Spotify playlists on their Facebook profiles.
, Michael Arrington
, and Ashton Kutcher
. Parker will serve as executive chairman and Fanning as CEO.
, Path
, and Knewton
. Parker has carte blanche
from Thiel when finding investments. Parker also hosts The TechFellow Awards, a partnership between TechCrunch
and The Founders Fund that annually gives 20 entrepreneurs $100,000 each to invest in startups.
, anti-malaria
groups, charity: water
, and marijuana legalization. He has spoken out in favor of higher taxes, particularly for the "wealthy and super wealthy," and in favor of higher capital gains taxes.
Parker is the founder of Causes, a philanthropic service that uses social media
to connect charities with their supporters and potential donors and then communicates that connection to the user's network of friends. By 2010, 90 million people had joined Causes, donating a total of $27 million. Originally one of the earliest Facebook applications, Causes now lives at Causes.com and raises more than $20,000 a day for various charitable causes.
in the 2010 Oscar-winning film, The Social Network
. The movie is a fictionalized account of Facebook
's founding and early days, in which Parker's character serves as the film's antagonist
. Timberlake was lauded for his performance, which portrayed Parker as a cruel, cocky opportunist.
Although Parker praised David Fincher
as a director, many have remarked on the differences between Parker and his portrayal by Timberlake. Former Facebook growth chief Chamath Palihapitiya noted that Parker is "really the exact opposite of his portrayal in the film." In particular, Parker took issue with the movie version of Eduardo Saverin
's exit from Facebook (who Parker remains friends with), as it ironically paralleled his own exit from Plaxo. Parker called the character a "morally reprehensible human being," although he noted that "it's hard to complain about being played by a sex symbol."
In 2011, Parker was a guest on Jimmy Fallon
, featured on the cover of the Forbes 400
issue, and was profiled in Vanity Fair
.
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, Plaxo
Plaxo
Plaxo is an online address book and social networking service originally founded by Sean Parker, Minh Nguyen and two Stanford engineering students, Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring...
, Causes, and Airtime, and was Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
's founding president. His net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.
Early life
Parker was born in Virginia to Diane Parker, a TV advertising broker, and Bruce Parker, a U.S. government oceanographer. When Parker was 7, his father taught him how to program on an Atari 800. Parker’s father, who put his family over his entrepreneurial dreams, told Parker "if you are going to take risks, take them early before you have a family."As a teenager, Parker’s hobbies were hacking
Hacking
Hacking may refer to:* Computer hacking, including the following types of activity:** Hacker , activity within the computer programmer subculture** Hacker , to access computer networks, legally or otherwise...
and programming. One night, while hacking into the network of a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company, Parker was unable to logout after his frustrated father unplugged his computer. Because his IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
was exposed, F.B.I. agents tracked down the 16-year-old, showed up at his doorstep and seized his computer. Since Parker was a minor, he was only sentenced to community service.
Education
Parker attended Oakton High SchoolOakton High School
Oakton High School is a public high school in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in proximity to the town of Vienna, in the United States. It is part of Fairfax County Public Schools....
in Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
for two years before transferring to Chantilly High School
Chantilly High School
Chantilly High School is a high school located in the Chantilly CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system.-Overview:...
in 1996 for his junior and senior years. While there, Parker wrote a letter to the school administration and persuaded them to count the time he spent coding in the computer lab as a foreign language class. As a result, towards the end of Parker’s senior year at Chantilly, he was mostly writing code and starting companies. He graduated in 1998. While still in high school, he interned for Mark Pincus
Mark Pincus
Mark Jonathan Pincus is an Internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, which makes online social games. Pincus also founded Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and SupportSoft. Pincus currently serves as CEO of Zynga, which had 232 million monthly active users as of July 1, 2011...
(the current CEO of Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
) at Pincus's Washington D.C. startup FreeLoader. He won the Virginia state computer science fair for developing a Web crawler
Web crawler
A Web crawler is a computer program that browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner or in an orderly fashion. Other terms for Web crawlers are ants, automatic indexers, bots, Web spiders, Web robots, or—especially in the FOAF community—Web scutters.This process is called Web...
, and was recruited by the C.I.A.. By his senior year of high school, Parker was earning more than $80,000 a year through various projects, enough to convince his parents to allow him to skip college and pursue a career as an entrepreneur.
As a child, Parker was an avid reader, which was the beginning of his lifelong autodidactism. Despite his lack of formal education, Parker is considered a "genius." He considers his time at Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
to be his college education, calling it "Napster University," since he became well-versed in intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
law, corporate finance, and entrepreneurship.
Napster
When Parker was 15, he met 14 year-old Shawn FanningShawn Fanning
Shawn Fanning is an American computer programmer, serial entrepreneur, and angel investor. He developed Napster, one of the first popular peer-to-peer file sharing platforms, in 1998. The popularity of Napster was widespread and Fanning was featured on the cover of Time magazine...
over the internet, where the two bonded over topics like theoretical physics
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
and hacking. A few years later, Fanning and Parker co-founded Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, a free file-sharing service for music. Parker raised the intial $50,000, and they launched Napster in June 1999. Within a year, the service had tens of millions of users. Napster was opposed by recording labels, the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, and the heavy metal band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. Lawsuits
Metallica v. Napster, Inc.
Metallica, et al. v. Napster, Inc. was a 2000 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case that focused on copyright infringement, racketeering, and unlawful use of digital audio interface devices. Metallica vs...
by various industry associations eventually shut down the service. Napster has been called the fastest growing business of all time, is credited with revolutionizing the music industry and served as a precursor to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Plaxo
In November 2002, Parker subsequently launched PlaxoPlaxo
Plaxo is an online address book and social networking service originally founded by Sean Parker, Minh Nguyen and two Stanford engineering students, Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring...
, an online address book and social networking service that integrated with Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
. Plaxo was one of the first products to build virality
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
into its launch, and that earned it 20 million users. Plaxo was an early social networking tool, which would later influence the growth of companies like LinkedIn
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
, Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. Two years after founding Plaxo, Parker was ousted by the company’s financiers, Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
and Ram Shriram
Ram Shriram
Kavitark Ram Shriram is the founding board member of Google and one of the first investors in Google. He earlier served as an officer of Amazon.com working for Jeff Bezos, founder & CEO. Shriram came to Amazon.com in August, 1998, when Amazon acquired Junglee, an online comparison shopping firm of...
, over unspecified reasons which Plaxo reportedly hired private investigators to acquire.
Friendster
Friendster is a social gaming site that is based in Malaysia, KL. The company now operates mainly from the three Asian countries namely in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore....
and its founder Jonathan Abrams, for which he was given a small amount of stock in 2003." Parker met with Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is chief executive and president...
, and a few months later, joined the five month old company as its founding president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. According to Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
, Facebook’s first investor, Sean Parker was the first to see potential in the company to be "really big," and that "if Mark ever had any second thoughts, Sean was the one who cut that off."
As president, Parker brought on Thiel as Facebook’s first investor. Within the initial round of funding, he negotiated for Zuckerberg to retain three of Facebook’s five board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
seats. This gave Zuckerberg control of the company, allowing Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
the freedom to remain a private company. Additionally, Parker is said to have championed Facebook’s clean user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
and developed its photo-sharing function. Zuckerberg notes that "Sean was pivotal in helping Facebook transform from a college project into a real company."
During a party in 2005, police entered and searched a vacation home Parker was renting and found cocaine. Parker was arrested on suspicion of possession
Drug possession
Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in one's possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise. Illegal drugs fall into different categories and sentences vary depending on the amount, type of drug, circumstances, and jurisdiction.A person has...
but not charged. This event was subsequently used by Facebook investors to pressure Parker into resigning as company president. Even after stepping down, Parker continued to remain involved with Facebook’s growth and meet regularly with Zuckerberg. The event was later dramatized in The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
.
Spotify
While working at The Founders Fund, Parker had been looking to invest in a company that could progress Napster’s mission of sharing music in a way that gave royalties to the musicians. In 2009, a friend showed him SpotifySpotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
, a European
European
European may mean:* A person or attribute of the continent of Europe* A citizen or attribute of or from the European Union** See also: Citizenship of the European Union* A person from a European ethnic group, or descended from one:** European American...
streaming music service and Parker sent an email to Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek
Daniel Ek is a Swedish entrepreneur and a technologist who started the music streaming service Spotify.He founded his first company in 1997 at the age of 14...
, Spotify’s founder.
The pair traded emails, and in 2010, Parker invested $15 million in Spotify
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
. Parker, who currently serves on Spotify’s board, negotiated with Warner
Warner
- Surname :* Albert Warner , one of the founders of Warner Bros. Studios* Amelia Warner , British actress* Amy Warner , soccer player who graduated from the University of Notre Dame...
and Universal
Universal
-Companies and organizations:* NBC Universal, a media and entertainment company** Universal Studios, an American film studio, and subsidiary of NBC Universal** Universal Channel, a television channel owned by NBC Universal...
, and in July 2011, Spotify announced its U.S. launch. At Facebook’s f8 conference, Parker announced a partnership between Facebook and Spotify, which allowed users to share their Spotify playlists on their Facebook profiles.
Airtime
In 2011, Parker reunited with Napster co-founder Shawn Fanning to found Airtime. Some of the investors are Ron ConwayRon Conway
Ron Conway is an American angel investor, often described as one of the "super angels". Conway is recognized as a strong networker and is based in Silicon Valley.-Early career:...
, Michael Arrington
Michael Arrington
J. Michael Arrington is the founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities and the wider technology field in USA and elsewhere...
, and Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
. Parker will serve as executive chairman and Fanning as CEO.
The Founders Fund
In 2006, Parker became managing partner at the Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital fund founded by Peter Thiel. Founders Fund is focused on investing in early-stage companies, has $500 million in aggregate capital, and has invested in QuantcastQuantcast
Quantcast is a California based company that provides publishers and marketers with the ability to understand, deliver and reach their best audiences at a massive scale...
, Path
Path
Path, pathway or PATH may refer to:-Path:* Course , the intended path of a vehicle over the surface of the Earth* Trail, hiking trail, footpath, or bridle path...
, and Knewton
Knewton
Knewton is an adaptive learning company that has developed a platform to personalize educational content. The Knewton platform allows schools, publishers, and developers to provide adaptive learning for any student. Knewton recently announced a partnership with Pearson Education to power the...
. Parker has carte blanche
Carte blanche
Carte blanche may refer to:* Blank cheque, a cheque that has no numerical value entered, but is already signed* Full Powers, term in international law referring to the authority of a person to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign state...
from Thiel when finding investments. Parker also hosts The TechFellow Awards, a partnership between TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
and The Founders Fund that annually gives 20 entrepreneurs $100,000 each to invest in startups.
Philanthropy
Parker is an active philanthropist, and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer researchCancer research
Cancer research is basic research into cancer in order to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatments and cure....
, anti-malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
groups, charity: water
Charity: water
charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Founded in 2006, it has helped fund 3,962 projects in 19 countries, benefiting over 1,794,983 people...
, and marijuana legalization. He has spoken out in favor of higher taxes, particularly for the "wealthy and super wealthy," and in favor of higher capital gains taxes.
Parker is the founder of Causes, a philanthropic service that uses social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
to connect charities with their supporters and potential donors and then communicates that connection to the user's network of friends. By 2010, 90 million people had joined Causes, donating a total of $27 million. Originally one of the earliest Facebook applications, Causes now lives at Causes.com and raises more than $20,000 a day for various charitable causes.
In popular culture
Parker was portrayed by Justin TimberlakeJustin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
in the 2010 Oscar-winning film, The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
. The movie is a fictionalized account of Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
's founding and early days, in which Parker's character serves as the film's antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Timberlake was lauded for his performance, which portrayed Parker as a cruel, cocky opportunist.
Although Parker praised David Fincher
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film and music video director. Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven , The Game , Fight Club , Panic Room , and Zodiac , Fincher received Academy Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and...
as a director, many have remarked on the differences between Parker and his portrayal by Timberlake. Former Facebook growth chief Chamath Palihapitiya noted that Parker is "really the exact opposite of his portrayal in the film." In particular, Parker took issue with the movie version of Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo P. Saverin is a Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and investor. Saverin is best known for co-founding Facebook, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes...
's exit from Facebook (who Parker remains friends with), as it ironically paralleled his own exit from Plaxo. Parker called the character a "morally reprehensible human being," although he noted that "it's hard to complain about being played by a sex symbol."
In 2011, Parker was a guest on Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
, featured on the cover of the Forbes 400
Forbes 400
The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by Forbes Magazine magazine of the wealthiest 400 Americans, ranked by net worth. The list is published annually in September, and 2010 marks the 29th issue. The 400 was started by Malcom Forbes in 1982 and treats those in the list like...
issue, and was profiled in Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
.
Personal life
Parker is primarily based in New York City although he frequently travels to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Stockholm, and London for Spotify, Airtime, and the Founders Fund. His $20 million townhouse in Manhattan includes an indoor pool, 30-foot bamboo trees, and an entrance hall adorned with actual subway cars. He is engaged to Alexandra Lenas, a singer-songwriter.External links
- Spotify
- Sean Parker on FoundersFund.com