When you hear the name Evan Spiegel, you probably think of Snapchat — and rightfully so. The LA-born tech entrepreneur co-founded the social media app that changed the way Gen Z communicates, and for a while, he was one of the youngest billionaires in the world. But like any Silicon Valley rollercoaster, his journey hasn’t been a straight shot up.
As of 2025, Evan Spiegel is 34 years old (born June 4, 1990) and has an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion. That’s a huge number — until you realize he was once worth $15 billion just a few years ago. Let’s dive into how Evan built his fortune, what caused it to drop so drastically, and where he stands today.
The Early Days of a Billion-Dollar Idea
Evan was raised in Pacific Palisades, California, in a well-off household. Both of his parents were lawyers, and he had access to elite education and creative opportunities from a young age. He attended Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, took extra design courses at art schools like Otis College and Art Center College of Design, and eventually enrolled at Stanford University to study product design.
It was at Stanford that Evan came up with the concept for an app where messages disappeared after being viewed — an idea that many of his classmates laughed off. But Evan didn’t give up. He teamed up with classmates Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, and together they built the prototype for what would become Snapchat.
From Picaboo to Snapchat — And Billionaire Status
The original app was called Picaboo, but after a rocky start (and the departure of Reggie Brown, who later won a $158 million settlement for his role), the team rebranded to Snapchat in 2011. By 2012, the app had already gained traction with over 1 million daily users.
The idea of ephemeral messaging — snapping a pic, adding doodles or text, and setting it to disappear — became a massive hit, especially among younger users. By 2013, Facebook came knocking with a $3 billion acquisition offer. Evan and his team rejected it — a move many questioned at the time.
But that gamble paid off. In 2014, Snapchat raised funds that valued the company at $10 billion. The rest, as they say, is Silicon Valley history.
The Snap Inc. IPO and Financial Highs
In March 2017, Snap Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares opened at $24, and by the end of the day, the company had a market cap of $20 billion.
Evan was just 26 years old, making him one of the youngest CEOs of a publicly traded company. On IPO day, he sold 16 million shares, earning a tidy $272 million before taxes (around $180 million after Uncle Sam took his cut). On top of that, he was awarded 37 million shares for taking the company public — worth about $850 million at the time.
At the end of Snap’s IPO day, Evan Spiegel’s net worth was around $4 billion. That figure kept climbing. By September 2021, his net worth hit an all-time high of $15 billion.
The Big Crash: Snap’s Stock Plummets
But tech riches don’t always last forever. From late 2021 to mid-2022, Snap’s stock price tumbled from $83 to $10, an 80% collapse that wiped billions from Evan’s paper wealth.
By late July 2022, his net worth had dropped to $2 billion. The stock dip was linked to everything from slowing user growth to changes in iOS privacy features that hurt Snap’s ad revenue model.
Even though Spiegel still owned over 210 million shares of the company as of early 2025, their value just wasn’t what it used to be.
Spiegel’s Life Outside Tech: Family, Homes, and French Citizenship?
In the midst of all the tech chaos, Evan’s personal life remained pretty grounded. He started dating supermodel Miranda Kerr in 2015, and they got married in May 2017. The couple shares two sons, Hart (born in 2018) and Myles (born in 2019).
And in a move that surprised many, Evan decided to return to Stanford and complete his degree in 2018 — something inspired by the birth of his first child. That same year, he was also granted French citizenship, thanks to a special clause in French law that allows applicants who contribute to French culture or the economy to bypass standard residency requirements.
Real Estate Empire: Homes, Vineyards, and Big Buys
Evan and Miranda have put some serious money into real estate, especially in California and Australia:
- In 2014, Evan bought a home in Brentwood, LA, for $3.3 million. He listed it for sale in 2024 for $4.95 million.
- In 2016, he purchased Harrison Ford’s former Brentwood home for $12 million, which became the couple’s wedding venue. It hit the market in 2024 for just under $20 million.
- They co-own a vineyard in Australia, Miranda’s home country.
- In 2021, they made headlines by spending $100 million on a Holmby Hills estate, right across the street from the Playboy Mansion. The property was still under construction at the time of purchase.
Clearly, Evan knows how to invest beyond the stock market.
So, What’s Next for Evan Spiegel?
Snapchat may not be the buzzy unicorn it once was, but it still has millions of daily users and continues to evolve with new features and AR integration. Evan remains CEO of Snap Inc., and despite the financial rollercoaster, his long-term vision for the company is still in play.
With a 2025 net worth of $2.6 billion, Spiegel’s fortune might not be at its peak anymore, but he’s far from struggling. His diversified portfolio, luxury properties, and personal brand give him a strong safety net. And let’s not forget — he’s still a young billionaire with decades of business ahead of him.
A Billionaire’s Journey of Resilience
Evan Spiegel’s story isn’t just about Snapchat filters and disappearing messages. It’s about believing in your ideas, sticking to your vision, and riding the waves of success and failure. From billionaire highs to market crashes, he’s stayed remarkably grounded.
At 34, Evan’s already lived out a few lifetimes of business success, but something tells us he’s far from done. Whether Snap continues to grow or he sets his sights on new ventures, one thing is for sure — Evan Spiegel is still one of the most fascinating minds in tech today.
What do you think? Will Snap make a major comeback, or will Evan take on something entirely new next? Let us know your thoughts!