Early Life and Education
Michael Jonathan Moritz was born in Cardiff, Wales, on September 12, 1954, to a Jewish family who fled Nazi Germany. His father was a professor at Cardiff University. Moritz attended Howardian High School in Cardiff and later earned a bachelor's degree in history from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1976, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1978.
Rise to Success
Moritz started his career as a journalist, working for Time magazine in the early 1980s. During this time, he wrote an early biography of Steve Jobs and Apple, titled "The Little Kingdom." In 1986, he joined Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm, and made pivotal investments in companies that reshaped the tech landscape. Moritz was instrumental in the development of Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, and PayPal.
Key Business Strategies
Moritz's success at Sequoia Capital was built on a keen eye for spotting promising tech startups. His investment strategy focused on identifying and nurturing companies with high growth potential, providing them with the capital and guidance needed to scale rapidly. He served on the boards of numerous companies, including Google, LinkedIn, and Stripe. In 2006 and 2007, Forbes named him the top venture capitalist on its Midas List. In 2023, he stepped down from Sequoia after nearly four decades, but remains on the boards of Stripe, Klarna and Instacart, and now focuses on Sequoia Heritage, a wealth management fund.
Philanthropy
Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman, are committed philanthropists. They founded the Crankstart Foundation, which supports various causes, including education, civil liberties, and cultural institutions. They have made significant donations to Oxford University, providing scholarships for students from lower-income families. In 2012 they gave a £75m donation to the University of Oxford for the support of the University's poorest students.
