Jack Patrick Dorsey was born on November 19, 1976, in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., and holds American nationality. He attended Bishop DuBourg High School and later the University of Missouri–Rolla for over two years before transferring to New York University. However, he dropped out one semester short of graduating.

Early Life

Jack Dorsey was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, to Tim and Marcia (née Smith) Dorsey. With a father working for a company developing mass spectrometers and a homemaker mother, Dorsey grew up in a Catholic household and has an uncle who is a Catholic priest in Cincinnati. He is partly of Italian descent through his mother.

In his youth, Dorsey attended Bishop DuBourg High School and occasionally worked as a fashion model. By age 14, he developed an interest in dispatch routing. After enrolling at the University of Missouri–Rolla in 1995, he transferred to New York University in 1997 but left two years later, just one semester shy of earning his degree. It was at NYU where he conceived the idea that would later evolve into Twitter.

Early Career and the Birth of Twitter

Dorsey moved to California while working on dispatching as a programmer. In 2000, he founded a company in Oakland that aimed to dispatch couriers, taxis, and emergency services via the Web. He also explored networks of medical devices and a “frictionless service market.” Inspired by LiveJournal and AOL Instant Messenger, he envisioned a Web-based real-time status/short message communication service in July 2000.

Observing instant messaging implementations, Dorsey wondered if user status outputs could be easily shared among friends. He approached Odeo, a company interested in text messaging, and, together with Biz Stone, developed a prototype of Twitter in about two weeks. The concept gained traction within Odeo, attracting investment from Evan Williams, an Odeo co-founder who had left Google after selling Pyra Labs and Blogger.

Career Highlights

Jack Dorsey’s career is marked by significant achievements in the tech industry:

• Twitter, Inc.: Dorsey co-founded Twitter, serving as its CEO from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2015 to 2021. Under his leadership, Twitter saw substantial growth and popularity, with key changes such as the removal of the 140-character limit for tweets. However, his tenure also faced controversies related to content moderation and political advertising.
• Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.): As the co-founder and CEO, Dorsey developed the Square financial services platform, enabling merchants to accept debit and credit card payments on mobile devices. He led Square’s expansion into various financial services and rebranded the company to Block, Inc. in 2021 to reflect its diverse business operations.

Companies Founded

Jack Dorsey has been instrumental in the success of several companies:

• Twitter, Inc.
• Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.)
• Bluesky Social (Twitter spin-off)

Major Achievements

Dorsey’s major achievements include:

• Co-founding Twitter and driving its evolution into a global platform.
• Developing the Square financial services platform, revolutionizing mobile payments.
• Actively engaging in philanthropic efforts, supporting education, COVID-19 relief, and universal basic income.

Awards and Recognitions

Dorsey’s contributions have garnered numerous awards and accolades:

• Named one of the top 35 innovators under the age of 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2008.
• Received the “Innovator of the Year Award” for technology from The Wall Street Journal in 2012.
• Named Founder of the Year at the 5th Annual Crunchies Awards in 2012.
• Considered the world’s most eligible bachelor by Forbes in 2013.

Net Worth

As of 2024, Jack Dorsey’s net worth is estimated at $10.1 billion USD.