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Billionaire Profile
Bobby Murphy
Global Rank
#1955

Image: Public domain | via Wikimedia Commons

Bobby Murphy

CEO, Snap Inc.
US
Real-Time Net Worth
$2B
As of December 2025
Age
37
Source
Snapchat
Industry
technology
Citizenship
US

Biography

Bobby Murphy, born in 1988, is a US-based entrepreneur and software engineer, best known as the co-founder and CTO of Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat. His net worth is estimated at $2.0 billion, with his wealth primarily stemming from Snapchat. Murphy's career began with the founding of Picaboo, later rebranded as Snapchat, while at Stanford University. He has been recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in 2014 and became the second-youngest billionaire in the world in 2015. He has contributed to the development of the Spectacles camera glasses, which further solidified Snapchat’s position in the tech industry. His achievements and influence have resulted in significant real estate investments.

Wealth Over Time

In-Depth Profile

Early Life

Robert Cornelius Murphy was born on July 19, 1988, in Berkeley, California. His mother is of Filipino descent. Murphy attended the School of the Madeleine and Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley. He graduated from Stanford University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematical and computational science.

Rise to Success

Murphy co-founded Picaboo (later renamed Snapchat) with Evan Spiegel and Reggie Brown while at Stanford University in 2011. After graduating, Murphy worked as a software engineer at Revel Systems before returning to Snapchat to lead engineering and research teams. In 2014, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine. In 2015, he became the second-youngest billionaire in the world according to Forbes.

Key Business Strategies

As CTO of Snap Inc., Murphy has been instrumental in developing and maintaining Snapchat's unique features, such as the ephemeral messaging system and augmented reality filters. He holds a significant portion of Snapchat's stock. Murphy and Spiegel jointly own approximately a quarter of Snap but have voting shares that give them control over the board.

Philanthropy

In February 2017, Murphy and Spiegel pledged to donate up to 13,000,000 shares of Class A common stock to their newly created Snap Foundation, which will support the arts, education, and youth non-profits, over the course of 15–20 years.

Career Milestones

2010

Graduation

Graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematical and computational science.

2011

Co-founded Snapchat (originally Picaboo)

Co-founded the photo and video messaging app, Snapchat, with Evan Spiegel and Reggie Brown.

2014

Named one of the 100 most influential people by Time

Recognized by Time magazine for his contributions to the tech industry.

2015

Became the second-youngest billionaire

Listed as the second-youngest billionaire in the world by Forbes.

2017

Snap Inc. IPO

Snap Inc. went public.

Philanthropy & Social Impact

Education

Snap Foundation

$XB

Murphy and Spiegel pledged to donate up to 13,000,000 shares of Class A common stock to their newly created Snap Foundation to support arts, education, and youth non-profits over 15-20 years.

Business Philosophy & Leadership

Notable Quotes

"We weren't cool, so we tried to build things to be cool."