25 Years Old, Google Has Made Its Founder Have Assets of IDR 1,550 Trillion
Photo: Pool (Business Insider)
- Google celebrates its 25th birthday. Its birth was led by Larry Page and Sergey Brin with a quite unique story that is rarely known to its users.
Google was founded in September 1998 after the idea had been in Page's head for the previous two years. He appointed himself as CEO of Google, while his partner Brin as co-founder.
Page and Brin met when they studied at Stanford University. Brin has a very open and passionate character, while Page is more introverted. They balance each other out.
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Google funding worth US$ 1 million was obtained from friends and family who believed that Google would be successful. Google office was founded. Not as big as it is now, but it all started in a garage.
February 1999, the startup grew rapidly. Page also moved his office from the garage to a new office in Palo Alto, California. Seven months later, they moved offices again to Mountain View as Google's business grew.
Google advanced so quickly, even though it wasn't making any money at that time. Therefore, they started looking for new investors.
They succeeded in getting new investors on the condition that Page and Brin would retain most of the voting stock and still be able to control Google completely.
Investors agreed, but they also had conditions: Page had to step down from his CEO position. He was considered inexperienced so they started looking for candidates. Ultimately the chosen one was Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Novell.
It's not easy for Page because he is a person who really likes to control things so that they run well. He wants everything to be done correctly and precisely.
Page also found it difficult to give up the CEO position because he felt he was capable of leading Google with Brin's help. But in the end, Page realized that Google needed a CEO who was experienced and had world-class status, so that it could continue to grow.
Schmidt became chairman of Google in March 2001 and became CEO in August. Schmidt succeeded in leading Google and finally went to the stock exchange in August 2004. Page and Brin became billionaires.
In 2011, Schmidt felt that he had enough to lead Google. Page was deemed fit to command his company again and he became CEO again. Meanwhile, Schmidt became chairman of Google.
Then in 2015, Page and Brin decided to form a Google holding company called Alphabet. Page became CEO, Brin was appointed President and Schmidt became Executive Chairman. Meanwhile, Google is led by a CEO of Indian descent, Sundar Pichai.
In 2019, Page and Brin decided to step down from Alphabet and appointed Pichai as the new CEO. The two founders of Google now rarely appear in public.
All the efforts made by Page and Brin bore sweet fruit. The wealth of both of them continues to increase, even reaching above US$ 100 billion or more than IDR 1,550 trillion (exchange rate IDR 15,504).
Berusia 25 Tahun, Google Telah Bikin Pendirinya Punya Harta Rp 1.550 Triliun
Foto: Pool (Business Insider)
- Google merayakan hari ulang tahunnya yang ke-25. Kelahirannya digawangi Larry Page dan Sergey Brin dengan cerita cukup unik yang jarang diketahui para penggunanya.
Google berdiri pada September 1998 setelah idenya sudah ada selama dua tahun sebelumnya di kepala Page. Dia mengangkat dirinya sebagai CEO Google, sementara rekannya Brin sebagai co-founder.
Page dan Brin berkenalan ketika mereka berkuliah di Stanford University. Brin memiliki karakter yang sangat terbuka dan penuh gairah, sementara Page lebih introvert. Mereka saling mengimbangi satu sama lain.
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Pendanaan Google senilai US$ 1 juta didapatkan dari teman dan keluarga mereka yang percaya bahwa Google akan sukses. Didirikanlah kantor Google. Bukan sebesar sekarang, melainkan semua bermula dari sebuah garasi.
Februari 1999, startup itu tumbuh pesat. Page pun memindahkan kantornya dari garasi di sebuah kantor baru di Palo Alto, California. Tujuh bulan kemudian, mereka pindah kantor lagi ke Mountain View seiring pertumbuhan bisnis Google.
Google maju dengan begitu kilat, meskipun saat itu belum menghasilkan uang. Karena itu, mereka mulai mencari investor baru.
Mereka berhasil mendapatkan investor baru dengan syarat Page dan Brin akan mempertahankan sebagian besar voting stock dan tetap dapat mengontrol Google secara penuh.
Investor mengiyakan, namun mereka juga punya syarat: Page harus lengser dari jabatan CEO-nya. Ia dianggap kurang berpengalaman sehingga mereka pun mulai mencari kandidat. Akhirnya yang terpilih adalah Eric Schmidt, mantan CEO Novell.
Tidak mudah bagi Page karena dirinya adalah orang yang sangat suka mengendalikan suatu hal agar berjalan dengan baik. Ia ingin semua dikerjakan dengan benar dan tepat.
Page pun merasa sulit harus melepas posisi CEO karena ia merasa mampu memimpin Google dengan bantuan Brin. Tapi akhirnya Page sadar Google butuh CEO yang sudah berpengalaman dan berstatus kelas dunia, agar terus berkembang.
Menjabatlah Schmidt menjadi chairman Google di Maret 2001 dan menjadi CEO di bulan Agustus. Schmidt berhasil memimpin Google dan akhirnya melantai ke bursa saham pada Agustus 2004. Jadilah Page dan Brin sebagai miliarder.
Tahun 2011, Schmidt sudah merasa cukup memimpin Google. Page dipandang pantas mengomandoi perusahaannya lagi dan ia pun menjadi CEO kembali. Sedangkan Schmidt menjadi chairman Google.
Kemudian pada 2015, Page dan Brin memutuskan membentuk perusahaan induk Google yang dinamakan sebagai Alphabet. Page menjadi CEO, Brin didapuk jadi Presiden dan Schmidt menjadi Executive Chairman.
Sedangkan Google dipimpin CEO keturunan India, Sundar Pichai.
Tahun 2019, Page dan Brin memutuskan lengser dari Alphabet dan mendapuk Pichai sebagai CEO baru. Kedua pendiri Google itu sekarang jarang sekali tampil di hadapan publik.
Segala upaya yang dikerahkan Page dan Brin berbuah manis. Kekayaan keduanya terus menanjak bahkan tembus di atas US$ 100 miliar atau lebih dari Rp 1.550 triliun (kurs Rp 15.504).