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Billionaire Profile
Taavet Hinrikus
Global Rank
#2912

Image: Tauno Tõhk / EU2017EE | CC BY 2.0 | via Wikimedia Commons

Taavet Hinrikus

CEO, Payments
ESTONIA
Real-Time Net Worth
$1.188B
Estimated based on Payments stock value as of March 6, 2026
-0.75% (24h)
Age
43
Source
payments, banking
Industry
Finance & Investments
Citizenship
ESTONIA

Biography

Taavet Hinrikus is an Estonian entrepreneur, investor, and advisor, recognized as one of Europe's most active investors. He is best known as the co-founder of Wise (formerly TransferWise), a financial technology company that disrupted the cross-border payments industry. His career began as Skype's first employee, where he played a key role in the company's early growth. Hinrikus's experience with technology ventures informed his vision for Wise. Hinrikus has a current net worth of $1.3 Billion and is currently ranked #2787 in the world today. He is also an active angel investor and mentor within the European startup ecosystem.

Fact Checked
Verified by Editorial Team
Live Data
Updated 3/6/2026

Wealth Over Time

In-Depth Profile

Early Life

Taavet Hinrikus was born in Estonia. He began building internet businesses in 1997.

Rise to Success

Hinrikus's career started as the first employee at Skype in 2002, where he served as Director of Strategy until 2008. He played a crucial role in the company's early growth. His experience with cross-border payments led him and Kristo Käärmann to co-found TransferWise (now Wise) in 2011. This fintech company simplified and lowered the cost of international payments by avoiding opaque banking fees. Wise went public in July 2021 on the London Stock Exchange.

Key Business Strategies

Wise focused on transparency and low-cost global transfers. The company expanded to offer its services in 56 different currencies. Hinrikus stepped back from the CEO role at Wise in 2017, and from the board in 2021, to focus on angel investments and other ventures. He is also a co-founder of Plural and the medical tech business Certific.

Philanthropy

Hinrikus co-founded the Good Deed Foundation Education Fund in Estonia and leads the 20 Under 20 program to support Europe's brightest teen CEOs.

Career Milestones

2002

Skype Employee

Joined Skype as the first employee and later became Director of Strategy.

2011

Co-founder, Wise

Co-founded Wise, a fintech company.

2017

Chairman of Wise

Moved from CEO to Chairman role at Wise.

2021

Wise went public

Wise went public on the London Stock Exchange.

Philanthropy & Social Impact

Education

Good Deed Foundation Education Fund

Undisclosed

Co-founded the Good Deed Foundation Education Fund in Estonia

Business Philosophy & Leadership

Notable Quotes

"Money without borders"

Leadership Principles

Focus on the one metric that matters

For Wise, the focus was on the volume of money being transferred.

Hire people who are passionate about the mission

Genuine passion for the problem will drive people through tough times.

My job as CEO is mostly to get out of the way.

The leader's role is to hire smart people, give them a clear mission, and then empower them to execute.

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