Michael Moritz
Michael Moritz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Jonathan Moritz September 12, 1954 Cardiff, Wales |
| Occupation(s) | Venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, former journalist |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Partner at Sequoia Capital, author of The Little Kingdom, board member of Google |
| Notable work | The Little Kingdom; Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler; Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United |
Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz KBE (born 12 September 1954) is a Welsh billionaire known for his work as a venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. He is a partner at Sequoia Capital and wrote the inaugural history of Apple Inc., titled The Little Kingdom, along with Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler. Moritz has experience as a staff writer at Time magazine and has held a position on Google's board of directors. His education includes studies at the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to entering the venture capital industry in the 1980s, he founded Technologic Partners. Moritz was recognized as the top venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas List in both 2006 and 2007.
Early life and education
Born in Cardiff, Wales, on 12 September 1954, Michael Jonathan Moritz is the son of Jewish parents who escaped Nazi Germany. His father, Ludwig Alfred Moritz (1921–2003), was a professor of Classics and later served as Vice Principal at Cardiff University. His mother, Doris (née Rath; 1924–2019), also fled Nazi persecution. Moritz attended Howardian High School in Cardiff.
He completed his undergraduate degree in history at Christ Church, Oxford, followed by an MBA from the Wharton School as a Thouron scholar in 1978.
Journalism
Moritz launched his professional journey in journalism. During the early 1980s, while working for Time magazine, Steve Jobs commissioned him to chronicle the creation of the Apple Macintosh for a book about Apple. Andy Hertzfeld noted that Jobs considered Moritz "our historian" because he was close in age to the team developing the Mac.
By late 1982, Moritz had become Time’s San Francisco Bureau Chief and contributed to the special Time Person of the Year issue initially centered on Jobs. His investigation involved interviewing Jobs' high school girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan, about their daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs. A subsequent interview with Jobs resulted in his denial of paternity. The issue ultimately featured critical perspectives from Apple employees and was retitled Machine of the Year, highlighting The Computer rather than an individual figure. After publication, Jobs cut off contact with Moritz and discouraged others from speaking with him. Despite this estrangement, Moritz maintained discreet communication and completed his book, The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer, which remains a highly regarded narrative on Apple's formative years.
In 2009, Moritz published an updated version entitled Return to the Little Kingdom: How Apple and Steve Jobs Changed the World. In its introduction, he reflected on the consequences of the Time article and his determination to retain control over his work:
Steve understandably objected to how he was portrayed... He expelled me from Apple’s circle and forbade anyone close to him from engaging with me. This experience led me to decide that I would never again work somewhere where I could not maintain significant control over my own path... I completed my leave [and] released my book... which offered a balanced view of the young Steve Jobs.
In 2015, Moritz co-wrote Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United alongside Alex Ferguson, drawing parallels between Ferguson’s football management strategies and principles of business leadership and achievement.
Venture capitalist
Moritz became part of Sequoia Capital in 1986 after co-writing Going for Broke: The Chrysler Story alongside Barrett Seaman, who was then the Detroit bureau chief for Time. Prior to joining Sequoia, he co-established Technologic Partners, a company specializing in technology newsletters and conferences.
His portfolio of internet ventures includes investments in Google, Yahoo!, Skyscanner, PayPal, Webvan, YouTube, eToys, and Zappos. Presently, he holds board positions at 24/7 Customer, Earth Networks, Gamefly, HealthCentral, Green Dot Corporation, Klarna, Kayak.com, LinkedIn, Stripe, and PopSugar. His previous board memberships encompassed companies such as A123 Systems, Aricent Group, Atom Entertainment, CenterRun, eGroups, Flextronics, Google, ITA Software, Luxim, PayPal, Plaxo, Pure Digital, Saba Software, Yahoo!, and Zappos.
The investment in Google was made jointly with John Doerr from the competing firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Google's 2004 initial public offering substantially boosted Moritz's fortune, ranking him among Wales' wealthiest individuals. His pivotal contribution to Google's growth earned him the number one spot on Forbes "Midas List" in both 2006 and 2007, as well as inclusion in the 2007 "TIME 100". He secured second place on the Midas List in 2008 and 2009.
In July 2023, after nearly forty years with Sequoia, Moritz resigned from the firm. He continues to serve on the boards of Stripe, Klarna, and Instacart; however, Sequoia intends to gradually replace these positions. Moving forward, Moritz will concentrate on Sequoia Heritage, a wealth-management fund he helped establish that now operates independently from Sequoia Capital.
San Francisco Standard
The San Francisco Standard is a commercially driven news platform focusing on San Francisco, financially supported by Michael Moritz with offices situated in the Mission District. It distributes its content through social media channels such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. The CEO is Griffin Gaffney, who also co-founded the Moritz-backed 501(c)(4) entities Here/Say Media and TogetherSF. Furthermore, Gaffney is a co-founder of PossibleSF. His professional experience includes product management and sales roles at Nutmeg, LinkedIn, Stripe, and Humu prior to his leadership at the San Francisco Standard.
Honours
In July 2010, Moritz was awarded an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University, an institution where his father had served as Vice-Principal and Professor of Classics. Four years later, in July 2014, he became a fellow of Aberystwyth University. That same year he received an honorary doctorate from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In recognition of his efforts to advance British economic interests and his philanthropic contributions, Moritz was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) during the 2013 Birthday Honours.
Personal life
Residing in San Francisco with his spouse, novelist Harriet Heyman, Moritz is a father to two children. In May 2012, following a diagnosis of a rare and incurable illness, he reduced his daily involvement at Sequoia Capital by transitioning into the role of chairman.
Philanthropy and political engagement
Moritz has pledged to The Giving Pledge, committing to allocate no less than half of his fortune to philanthropic causes. In June 2008, he and his spouse contributed US$50 million to Christ Church, Oxford, marking the largest donation in the college’s history. By July 2012, he had donated £75 million to Oxford University to establish scholarships aimed at students from households with annual incomes below £16,000—this represented the most substantial undergraduate donation ever made in Europe.
In February 2013, Moritz provided $5 million to support the Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program. Later that year, in September, he and his wife gave $30 million to the University of California, San Francisco for the UCSF Discovery Fellows Program, which became the largest endowed PhD program within the University of California system; UCSF matched their contribution with an additional $30 million. In February 2016, they donated $50 million to the University of Chicago's Odyssey initiative aimed at aiding low-income students; this gift was matched by another $50 million from the university.
According to an October 2016 report by The Guardian, Moritz contributed $49,999 towards a San Francisco ballot measure focused on regulating homeless encampments. Subsequently, he expressed opposition to a homelessness funding proposal through an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal.
In May 2018, Moritz made a $20 million donation to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), marking the organization’s largest single gift. He also supported the Republican-led Lincoln Project, which opposed Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Over a span of three years, Moritz directed roughly $336 million towards political and social initiatives in San Francisco, including contributions to SF Parent Action and TogetherSF Action—both groups actively involved in local school board recall efforts and drug policy reform.
In 2024, Moritz and TogetherSF backed Mark Farrell’s bid for mayor of San Francisco.
Crankstart
In 2019, Michael Moritz and his wife’s philanthropic foundation, Crankstart, assumed sponsorship of the Booker Prize for fiction authors for a period of five years. The couple opted not to have their charity’s name attached to the award, which subsequently reverted to its original title, the Booker Prize.