Jeffrey J. Rothschild
Jeffrey Rothschild | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 28, 1954 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, engineer, investor |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Known for | Founding engineer and major shareholder of Facebook |
| Notable work | Co-founder of Veritas Software, Mpath Interactive; VP of infrastructure software at Facebook |
Jeffrey Jackiel Rothschild (born February 28, 1954) is a U.S. billionaire entrepreneur, founding engineer, and major shareholder of Facebook.
Early life
Rothschild is the son of Beverley and William B. Rothschild, the latter having served as president of M. Rothschild & Company, a Southeast Asian commodities importer established by his grandfather Marcus Rothschild. He obtained both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Vanderbilt University in 1977 and 1979 respectively. Although he is of Jewish heritage, he has no familial ties to the Rothschild banking dynasty.
Career
Starting his professional path as an engineer at Honeywell and Intel, Rothschild later worked as a consultant on various projects including those with Locus Computing Corporation. He co-founded Veritas Software in 1988 and went on to establish Mpath Interactive (which became MPlayer.com) in 1995; the latter company went public in 1999. He is credited with multiple patents associated with Mpath's technological innovations.
In 1999, Rothschild took on the role of advisor and venture partner at the venture capital firm Accel Partners. Alongside former Veritas executives Peter Levine and Steve Colman, he co-founded Mendocino Software in 2003; however, this company ceased operations by 2008.
Joining Facebook in 2005 as vice president of infrastructure software, Rothschild contributed vital expertise to the company’s backend architecture. By 2012, he possessed 18 million shares in Facebook and was recognized as the company’s longest-tenured employee.
Other activities
Rothschild holds the position of vice chair on the board of trustees at Vanderbilt University, his alma mater. In 2013, he and his wife established scholarships within both the School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Science. Later, in December 2016, he made a $20 million contribution towards the construction of two new campus facilities: Vanderbilt Hall and Barnard Hall.
Personal life
Residing in Palo Alto, California, Rothschild lives with his wife Marieke and their three children. As reported by Forbes in May 2022, his estimated net worth was around $2.9 billion.