Jawed Karim is the co-founder of YouTube, who also uploaded the very first video on the platform If that doesn’t leave you in complete awe of the man than nothing ever will. Today, the American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur is one of the most influential figures in the world. We all have Jawed and his co-founders Steven Chen and Chad Hurley to thank for making sure we are never bored. Today, YouTube has been an integral part of all our livelihoods. Whether you are a content creator looking to reach a larger audience or a simply bored viewer, you can instantly hop on to YouTube and get the thing you are looking for. And in this article, we take a closer look at the wiki bio of one of its founders, Jawed Karim.
Wiki/Bio Facts
| Fact | Description |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jawed Karim |
| Date of birth | October 28, 1979 |
| Place of birth | Merseburg, East Germany |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Bangladeshi-German |
| Gender | Male |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Relationship status | Currently seems to be a single |
| Marital status | N/A |
| Parents | Naimul Karim and Christine Karim |
| Siblings | One younger brother |
| Education | University of Illinois (BS), Stanford University (MS) |
| Occupation | Software engineer and Internet entrepreneur |
| Net Worth | $300 million (estimated) |
| Known for | Co-founding YouTube, uploading the first video on YouTube (“Me at the zoo”) |
| YouTube channel | jawed |
| YouTube subscribers | Over 3.97 million as of September 2023 |
| YouTube views | Over 285 million as of September 2023 |
| Previous internship | Silicon Graphics, Inc |
| Previous employer | PayPal |
| Current employer | Y Ventures |
| Current position | Partner |
| Languages spoken | English, German, Bengali |
| First video uploaded date | April 23, 2005 |
| First video uploaded title | “Me at the zoo” |
| First video uploaded duration | 19 seconds |
| First video uploaded views | Over 285 million as of September 2023 |
| First video uploaded description | “The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long trunks, and that’s, that’s cool.” |
| YouTube co-founders | Chad Hurley and Steve Chen |
| YouTube founding date | February 14, 2005 |
| Controversy and rumor | He hasn’t faced any big rumors and scandal yet. |
Early Life
Jawed Karim was born on the 28th of 1979 in Merseburg, East Germany, to a Bangladeshi father and German mother. Growing up, Jawed moved a lot due to xenophobia. In the early 1980s, Jawed’s family moved to West Germany before to Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1992. As a result, Jawed and his younger brother spent much of their lives constantly on the move. After graduating from Saint Paul Central High School, Jawed enrolled at the University of Illinois. Even though he left campus to work at PayPal, he continued his studies and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He later continued his higher education and achieved a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University.
Professional Career
Jawed became his working life as an intern at Silicon Graphics, Inc. He later moved on to PayPal where he met Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. During his three-year stay at the company, the trio started working on YouTube and launched the platform in 2005. The very first video was uploaded by Karim on the 23rd of April 2005 entitled Me at the zoo.
When YouTube was first launched, Karim decided to take a backseat and work as an advisor. This resulted in a lesser share for Karim who wanted to focus on his studies. Not recognized so often as his peers, Karim rose in stature after YouTube was purchased by Google in 2006.
Over the years, Karim continued his investments and work in tech projects. He invested his earnings from YouTube in a joint-venture fund called Youniversity Ventures with partners Keith Rabois and Kevin Hartz. Karim also holds stocks in Airbnb and made his investments early in the company’s establishment.
Controversy with Google+
When Google first announced that people need to make a Google+ account to comment on a YouTube video, it angered the entire community. In response to the move which was rolled out on the 6th of November 2013, Karim updated the video description on Me at the zoo to I can’t comment here anymore since I don’t want a Google+ account. Google was later forced to cancel the move and subsequently closed Google+ at a later date.
Net Worth
Karim’s net worth is estimated to be around $300 million as of 2023. He earned his fortune mainly from his share of YouTube, which was acquired by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion in stock. Karim’s share was worth $64 million at the time. He also launched a venture capital fund called Y Ventures, which has invested in several successful startups, such as Airbnb, Eventbrite, and Palantir.
Personal Relationships
For the founder of YouTube, Karim is an extremely secretive person. The entrepreneur has not revealed any details on his personal life to the public. For the longest time, Karim was associated with the author Kia Abdullah. The rumored couple dated from 2011 to 2019. As of the time of writing, There is no information available about his previous relationships or his marriage plans. Karim prefers to focus on his career and his ventures, rather than on his love life.
Physical Traits
| Physical Trait | Description |
|---|---|
| Height | About 5 feet 8 inches (172 cm) |
| Weight | About 165 lbs (75 kg) |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Skin tone | Light brown |
| Facial features | Oval face, thin eyebrows, prominent nose, thin lips |
| Body type | Slim |
| Clothing style | Casual, often wears T-shirts, jeans, and jackets |
| Accessories | Sometimes wears glasses or sunglasses |
| Tattoos | None |
| Piercings | None |
| Scars | None visible |
| Birthmarks | None visible |