Guillaume Pousaz
Guillaume Pousaz (born 1981/1982) is a Dubai-based Swiss billionaire entrepreneur, and the CEO and founder of payment platform Checkout.com. As of April 2023, he has an estimated net worth of US$7.2 billion according to Forbes magazine..[2]
Guillaume Pousaz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981/1982 (age 41–42)[1] |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Education | HEC Lausanne |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Checkout.com |
| Children | 3 |
Early life and education
Pousaz studied mathematical engineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne, before enrolling in an economics bachelor's degree at HEC Lausanne.[3]
Pousaz initially wanted to become an investment banker, but dropped out of university in Switzerland in 2005 when his father got cancer. He then moved to California to become a surfer.[4][5]
Career
In 2006, Pousaz joined payments company International Payments Consultants (IPC) but left to found his own business.[6][3]
In 2007, Pousaz set up NetMerchant, a US to Europe money transfer service, with IPC's head of sales. The company ran until 2009.[3]
In 2009, Pousaz purchased Mauritius-based SMS Pay for US$300,000 over a three-year period.[3]
Pousaz founded Opus Payments in Singapore in 2009, which enabled businesses in Hong Kong to process payments from buyers around the world.[3]
Opus Payments rebranded and became Checkout.com in 2012. The company was founded to solve the problem of online payment processing for merchants and their customers.[6][7]
In 2019, Checkout.com raised $230 million in funding. At the time, this was the largest Series A funding round ever for a European fintech company.[8]
In January 2021, Checkout.com raised a further US$450 million at a valuation of US$15 billion. As a result, Forbes estimated Pousaz's net worth to be US$9 billion.[3][7][9]
Pousaz is the CEO of Checkout.com and owns an estimated two-thirds of the company.[2]
Pousaz set up a personal investment firm, Zinial Growth, in May of 2021. The firm has invested in e-commerce start-ups Ziina and Wayflyer and blockchain firm Snickerdoodle Labs.[10]
In January 2022, after a $1 billion fundraising, Checkout.com was valued at US$40 billion, giving Pousaz an estimated net worth of about US$20 billion.[1]
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2022 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 5th with an estimated net worth of £19.259 billion.[11]
Personal life
Pousaz lives in Dubai, is married and has three children (two sons and a daughter).[3]
References
- Milmo, Dan (13 January 2022). "Checkout.com becomes UK's most valuable fintech at $40bn". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- "Guillaume Pousaz". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- Shead, Sam. "Guillaume Pousaz: The Jet-Setting Founder Of $2 Billion Payment Startup Checkout.com". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- Kelly, Liam. "Checkout.com's quiet surfer rides a lucrative fintech wave". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- León, Riley de (2021-07-15). "Checkout.com founder Guillaume Pousaz on fintech's gold rush, cryptocurrency, and profitability". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- León, Riley de (2021-07-15). "Checkout.com founder Guillaume Pousaz on fintech's gold rush, cryptocurrency, and profitability". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- Dawkins, David. "Checkout.com's Guillaume Pousaz Emerges As One Of Europe's Leading Billionaire Fintech Founders". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- "Checkout.com raises Europe's biggest ever early-stage funding round". Growth Business. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- "Checkout.com significantly increases valuation to $15 billion with another funding round". www.engineerability.com. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Checkout.com CEO Worth $8 Billion Builds Family Office for Tech Bets". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Watts, Robert, ed. (20 May 2022). "The Sunday Times Rich List 2022". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 May 2022.