After Snapchat’s initial public offering, CEO Evan Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy could be worth as much as $5.5 billion each if the stock lives up to the hype.
Meanwhile, the man who helped form Snapchat in its earliest days, Reggie Brown, was paid $157.5 million in a 2014 settlement, according to the company’s Thursday IPO filing. The lawsuit, filed by Brown in 2013, alleged that he was unfairly ousted from the company, and was therefore entitled to a one-third ownership stake in Snapchat. No equity was included as part of the settlement.
“We acknowledge Reggie’s contribution to the creation of Snapchat and appreciate his work in getting the application off the ground,” Spiegel said in a statement following the settlement.
Brown’s settlement is equal to roughly 3% of what Spiegel and Murphy could be worth following Snapchat’s IPO. Spiegel and Murphy may be worth as much as $5.5 billion following Snapchat’s IPO, if the company manages to hit its ambitious $25 billion valuation. That’s because the two founders each have a 22% stake in the company.