Sergey Brin
American computer scientist and business executive; cofounder of Google
| Sergey Brin
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 8 1973 (age 53 years old (as of 2026)
) Russia |
| Occupation | business executive |
| Known for | Cofounder of Google; board member of Alphabet |
| Education | Stanford University; University of Maryland, College Park |
Sergey Brin (born 21 August 1973) is an American computer scientist and business executive, cofounder of Google.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Brin fourth in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$259.5 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Google.[2] The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as reported by Investopedia, put the figure at US$274 billion on 1 October 2026.[3]
Background
Born 21 August 1973 in Russia; moved to the US aged six; United States citizen.[1]
Education
University of Maryland, College Park (bachelor’s degree); Stanford University (master’s degree).[1]
In its 2017 World's Billionaires profile text, Forbes stated: "Brin cofounded Google with Larry Page in 1998 after they met at Stanford University."[1]
Career and companies
Cofounded Google with Larry Page in 1998; stepped down as Alphabet president in 2019 but remains a board member and controlling shareholder.[1]
On 3 December 2019 Alphabet announced that Larry Page and Sergey Brin would leave their roles as CEO and President of Alphabet respectively, continuing as co-founders, shareholders and members of the board. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, also became CEO of Alphabet. The founders said: “We’ve never been ones to hold on to management roles when we think there’s a better way to run the company.”[4]
How the wealth was made
Alphabet shareholding as cofounder.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this person in its annual World's Billionaires list in 23 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2004. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[5][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 552 | 1.0 | 43 | 4.0 |
| 2005 | 55 | 7.2 | 16 | 11.0 |
| 2006 | 26 | 12.9 | 12 | 14.1 |
| 2007 | 26 | 16.6 | 5 | 18.5 |
| 2008 | 32 | 18.7 | 13 | 15.9 |
| 2009 | 26 | 12.0 | 11 | 15.3 |
| 2010 | 24 | 17.5 | 11 | 15.0 |
| 2011 | 24 | 19.8 | 15 | 16.7 |
| 2012 | 24 | 18.7 | 13 | 20.3 |
| 2013 | 21 | 22.8 | 14 | 24.4 |
| 2014 | 19 | 31.8 | 14 | 31.0 |
| 2015 | 20 | 29.2 | 11 | 32.6 |
| 2016 | 13 | 34.4 | 10 | 37.5 |
| 2017 | 13 | 39.8 | 10 | 43.4 |
| 2018 | 13 | 47.5 | 9 | 52.4 |
| 2019 | 14 | 49.8 | 7 | 53.5 |
| 2020 | 14 | 49.1 | 9 | 65.7 |
| 2021 | 9 | 89.0 | 6 | 118.5 |
| 2022 | 7 | 107.0 | 7 | 89.0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 76.0 | 7 | 110.0 |
| 2024 | 11 | 110.0 | 7 | 130.0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 138.0 | 6 | 166.0 |
| 2026 | 3 | 237.0 | 5 | 256.0 |
Philanthropy
Forbes reports donations of more than $2 billion to Parkinson’s research; giving focuses on central-nervous-system conditions and climate change.[1]
Foundation-level: the following private foundation figures are taken from the IRS Form 990-PF data published by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Total assets are as reported at the end of each tax year; "grants paid" is the 990-PF line for contributions, gifts and grants paid.[6]
| Foundation | Tax year | Total assets, end of year | Contributions, gifts and grants paid | Contributions received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation | 2023 | 4,070.4 | 430.3 | 57.0 |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation | 2022 | 3,360.4 | 700.6 | 274.3 |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation | 2021 | 4,934.3 | 166.1 | 464.0 |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation | 2020 | 3,194.2 | 312.2 | 20.7 |
Political donations and public roles
The Federal Election Commission queries run for this profile (2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles; top 100 itemised records per name and cycle) matched no itemised federal contributions.[7]
FEC records also show four memo entries (not counted above) attributed to Brin for the Republican National Committee dated 12 May 2025 (three of $132,900 and one of $44,300). Memo entries can indicate allocations or earmarks reported by the recipient; their exact nature was not verified.[7]
Lobbying by companies
Company-level: according to Issue One’s analysis of federal lobbying disclosures, Alphabet spent $16.62 million in 2025, an increase of nearly 12% from 2024.[8]
| Company | 2025 spending | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Meta | $26.29 million | about 8% higher (record) |
| Alphabet | $16.62 million | nearly 12% higher |
| Microsoft | $10.1 million | 2% lower |
| Nvidia | $4.95 million | up from $640,000 |
| X | $720,000 | unchanged |
Controversies and legal cases
Company-level: on 27 June 2017 the European Commission fined Google €2,424,495,000 for abusing its dominance as a search engine by giving an illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service.[9] Company-level: on 5 August 2024, after the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in US v. Google, Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people.”[10]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
In July 2025, according to screenshots reported by the Washington Post and summarised by JTA, Brin wrote in an internal Google forum, responding to a UN special rapporteur’s report on Israel and Gaza: “With all due respect, throwing around the term genocide in relation to Gaza is deeply offensive…” and “I would also be careful citing transparently antisemitic organizations like the UN in relation to these issues.” A spokesperson said the comments responded to “a plainly biased and misleading report.”[11] Company-level: Google was one of two winners of Israel’s $1.2 billion “Nimbus” cloud tender (April 2021).[12]
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Sergey Brin (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/sergey-brin/) Forbes, live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Investopedia, The 10 Richest People in the World (citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index, figures as of 1 Oct 2026) Investopedia, updated 2 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Alphabet Investor Relations, Alphabet management change Alphabet Investor Relations, 3 December 2019, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Sergey Brin Family Foundation (EIN 47-2107200) – Nonprofit Explorer record with IRS Form 990-PF financial data ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, IRS filings as processed by ProPublica; accessed 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "BRIN, SERGEY"; 2024 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried with the same parameters; top 100 records per name and cycle; compiler filtered by employer/occupation and excluded memo entries from totals U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Issue One, Armies of Lobbyists Helped Big Tech Rack up Victories During First Year of Trump's Second Term Issue One, 21 January 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ European Commission, Antitrust: Commission fines Google €2.42 billion for abusing dominance as search engine by giving illegal advantage to own comparison shopping service – Factsheet (MEMO/17/1785) European Commission, 27 June 2017, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Department Statements on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's Decision in U.S. v Google U.S. Department of Justice, 5 August 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Google's Sergey Brin derides UN as 'transparently antisemitic' in company chat: Report Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 10 July 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Calcalist (CTech), Amazon's AWS and Google big winners of Israel's $1.2 billion milestone cloud project Calcalist (CTech), 21 April 2021, accessed 20 October 2026.