Brian Acton
Brian Acton is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. Acton is the Executive Chairman of the Signal Foundation, which he co-founded with Moxie Marlinspike in 2018.
- Computer engineer Brian Acton cofounded messaging app WhatsApp with Jan Koum in 2007; the two had met while working at Yahoo.
- The pair sold WhatsApp to Facebook for $22 billion in cash and stock in 2014. Acton left WhatsApp at the end of 2017.
- Acton received about $3 billion for his stake in WhatsApp. The mobile messaging app has over 1 billion users in 180 countries.
- In Feb. 2018, he committed $50 million to Signal Foundation – the nonprofit behind the signal mobile app focused on preserving private communication.
- Acton and wife, Tegan, have also founded three other philanthropic entities. In total, the couple have put over $1 billion in charitable vehicles.
