Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian: Net Worth, Career, Education, and Personal Life

Alexis Ohanian Biography

Early Life and Education of Alexis Ohanian

Alex Ohanian was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1983. He has origins in different parts of the world as his paternal grandparents were refugees of Armenian Genocide and his mother was an immigrant from Germany. Alexis studied at Howard High School in Maryland. He gave the student address during his graduation in 2001.

Later, Ohanian graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in commerce and history in 2005. During his college he found a friend in Steve Huffman as they both were having similar interests like playing video games, who later became co-founders of Reddit.

In one of his interviews, Alexis said that he walked out of an LSAT practice test and went to Waffle House. That’s where he realized that he wanted to make a dent in the universe instead of becoming a lawyer. If not the universe, Alexis definitely made a dent to the internet.

Career Journey of Alexis Ohanian as Reddit Co-founder

Alexis Ohanian has been obsessed with technology since childhood. When he got a 33.6k dialup modem in middle school, he learned how to code and build websites. Later, he started building websites for non-profit organizations for free using his newly acquired skills.

After graduating from University of Virginia, Alexis along with Steve Huffman pitched the idea of MyMobileMenu, an online food ordering app to Y Combinator, a startup incubating and accelerating company. They liked the idea, but suggested Alexis and Steve come up with new ideas for them to fund their project.

Later, they came up with Reddit, a social media news and media aggregator where all registered users can post content. The platform was initially named as “Read it” and their goal was to make it the “front page of the internet”. The Reddit idea was finally accepted and became one of the first-batch startups of Y Combinator in 2005.

Though the company was acquired by Conde Nast in 2006 for an undisclosed amount, Alexis continued to be one of its board of directors. Alexis left and rejoined the company in 2015 to lead it but again left Reddit to focus on investing in startup companies.

Later in 2020, Alexis completely resigned from Reddit, determined to bring a black ambassador in his place in response to the murder of George Floyd. Michael Seibel, who is an African and American entrepreneur, replaced Alexis and became a Reddit board member.

Ohanian’s Career as an Investor and Venture Capitalist

When he left Reddit, he pursued other interests and eventually became one of the most influential figures in the tech and startup industry. Later, he worked in several places like microfinance in Armenia, invested and helped to launch travel website Hipmunk, and launched his own venture capital firm Das Kapital.

Alexis also started another venture capital firm Initialized Capital with Garry Tan and invested in startups like Instacart, Zenefits, Cruise, Opendoor, etc. He was ranked number one investor by CB Insights, for his wide network and connections with other investors and the quality and depth of those links.

He continued to invest in other companies like Kinside, Dispo, Pearpop, and more. Ohanian was announced as the lead investor in the National Women’s Soccer League. In 2020, Ohanian resigned from Initialized Capital and started “776”, his own venture capital firm.

Creative Side of Alex Ohanian, The Thinker and Writer

Ohanian has always been an innovative thinker and never backed off from speaking out his opinions. Be it advocating for paternity leaves during the time he was having a child or his opinions on work-life balance, he always expressed his thoughts either in his interviews or through his blog.

Alexis is also a writer and pens down his life updates and insights in his personal blog, where he calls himself “Son of undocumented immigrant” and “Business dad”. He published a book titled ‘Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed” in 2013. It was listed fourth on The Wall Street Journal’s best sellers list.

Ohanian was also part of a weekly online series called Small Empires, which focuses on rising startups in New York City. He launched and hosted podcasts “Business Dad”, “NYRD Radio”, “Upvoted”. He believes that diversity and inclusivity is essential in the tech industry and always gave priority to underrepresented people in his companies.

Awards and Honors of Alexis Ohanian

Alexis Ohanian was titled “Ambassador of the East” by Y Combinator, where he mentored New York founders and was a representative of the company. In 2010 and 2011, Ohanian actively participated in speaking against “Stop Online Piracy Act” and “Protect IP Act”. By leading the campaign, he successfully overturned the two bills and became an influential figure.

The Daily Dot listed Ohanian number one in their “top 10 most influential activists” in 2012. For successfully leading the campaign and advocating for Open Internet, Forbes called him “Mayor of the Internet”. Another noteworthy mention is his contribution in advocating net neutrality as well as diversity and inclusivity in the tech industry.

Alexis was one of the “Forbes 30 Under 30” figures, in 2011 and 2012. He was also featured on the Wired Magazine as a champion of innovation. His achievements further include being listed in “Crain’s 40 Under 40 businessmen” and “Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company Magazine. Recently, he was named a “2023 Money Changemaker” by the Money Magazine.

Alexis Ohanian’s Net Worth and Personal Life

Alexis Ohanain was a big fan of popular tennis player Serena Williams. After dating for more than a year, they got engaged in 2016 and welcomed their first daughter in 2017. Later, they married at the end of 2017. Ohanian says that watching her wife compete has changed how he measures business success. Recently, the couple gave birth to their second daughter in August 2023.

The Ohanian family now lives in Beverly Hills, California. The net worth of Alexis Ohanian is $150 million, as per CAKnowledge report. A major part of his wealth came from his startup company Reddit. Besides, his investments in several startup tech companies have also started to pay off.