Eduardo Saverin

Eduardo Luiz Saverin (/ˈsævərɪn/ SAV-ər-in, Brazilian Portuguese: [eduˈaʁdu luˈis saveˈɾĩ] ^ⓘ; born March 19, 1982)^[4] is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur, angel investor, and philanthropist, known for co-founding Facebook and later establishing the venture capital firm B Capital. Based in Singapore, Saverin has also co-founded the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation, a charitable entity focused on innovation, education, sustainability, and health. As of June 2025, his net worth is estimated at US$38.3 billion, making him the wealthiest Brazilian and the richest person in Singapore.^[5][6]

Eduardo Saverin
Saverin in 2012
Born	Eduardo Luiz Saverin (1982-03-19) March 19, 1982 (age 43) São Paulo, Brazil
Citizenship	Brazil (1982–present)[1][2] United States (1998–2011)[3]
Education	Harvard University (BA)
Known for	Co-founder of Facebook Co-founder of B Capital Co-founder Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation
Spouse	Elaine Andriejanssen ​ ​ (m. 2015)​
Website	facebook.com/saverin

Early life and education

Eduardo Luiz Saverin was born in São Paulo to a wealthy Jewish-Brazilian family,^[7][8][9] which later moved to Rio de Janeiro. Saverin's father, Roberto Saverin,^[10] was a businessman working in clothing, shipping, energy, and real estate.^[11] His mother, Sandra, was a psychologist. He has two siblings.^[12] His Romanian-born grandfather, Eugenio Saverin (born Eugen Saverin), is the founder of Tip Top, a chain of children's clothing shops.^[12] In 1993, the family immigrated to the US, settling in Miami, Florida.^[10] Eduardo Saverin became a naturalized US citizen in 1998, when he was 15-16 years old.^[13]

Saverin attended Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. He then attended Harvard University, where he was a resident of Eliot House, a member of the Phoenix S.K. Club, and president of the Harvard Investment Association. While an undergraduate at Harvard, Saverin used his interest in meteorology to predict hurricane patterns and made $300,000 via investment in oil futures.^[11][14] In 2006, Saverin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.^[15] He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity (Eta Psi chapter of Harvard University).^[16]

Career

During his junior year at Harvard, Saverin met fellow Harvard undergraduate, sophomore Mark Zuckerberg. Noting the lack of a dedicated social networking website for Harvard students, the two worked together to launch Facebook in 2004. They each agreed to invest $1,000 in the site. Later, Zuckerberg and Saverin each agreed to invest another $18,000 in the operation.^[17] As co-founder, Saverin held the role of chief financial officer and business manager.^[7] On May 15, 2012, Business Insider obtained and released an exclusive email from Zuckerberg detailing how he cut Saverin from Facebook and diluted his stake.^[18] Zuckerberg privately stated at the time, "Eduardo is refusing to co-operate at all ... We basically now need to sign over our intellectual property to a new company and just take the lawsuit ... I'm just going to cut him out and then settle with him. And he'll get something I'm sure, but he deserves something ... He has to sign stuff for investments and he's lagging and I can't take the lag." Zuckerberg's attorney warned Zuckerberg that the dilution might trigger a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty. Facebook filed a lawsuit against Saverin, arguing that the stock-purchase agreement Saverin signed in October 2005 was invalid. Saverin then filed a suit against Zuckerberg, alleging Zuckerberg spent Facebook's money (Saverin's money) on personal expenses over the summer.^[19] In 2009, both suits were settled out of court. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and the company affirmed Saverin's title as co-founder of Facebook. Saverin signed a non-disclosure contract after the settlement.^[20][21]

In 2010, Saverin co-founded Aporta, an online portal for charity.^[10] In 2015, Saverin established his venture capital firm, B Capital, investing in Southeast Asia and India.^[22] In 2016, Saverin's fund closed initial deals of over $140 million in Asia, including Ninja Van, a Singaporean logistics company that engages in last mile parcel delivery in Southeast Asia.^[23]

In addition to forming B Capital, in early 2020, Saverin invested in Antler, an early-stage VC fund and startup accelerator founded by his friend and Harvard classmate, Magnus Grimeland.^[24][25]

In media

Saverin is played by Andrew Garfield in the film The Social Network, which is based on Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires.^[26]

Philanthropy

In 2022, Eduardo Saverin and his wife Elaine co-founded the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation Limited, a Singapore-based charitable organization. Officially registered as a charity in 2023, the foundation supports initiatives across education, sustainability, healthcare, and mental health.^[27][28]

The foundation is guided by a mission to act as a catalyst for innovation, a driver of purposeful action, and a long-term investor in ideas that seek lasting social impact. It pursues this vision by aligning capital with mission, emphasizing scalable solutions, environmental resilience, and inclusive systems change. Its work reflects a commitment to sustainability, flexible philanthropic strategy, and empowering future generations.

Healthcare

The foundation has supported medical research and care initiatives, including a US$20 million donation from the Saverin family to Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in 2019 to advance research into metastatic breast cancer.^[29]

Education

In 2024, the foundation made a S$20 million donation to the Singapore American School, the largest in the school’s history. The gift supports advanced STEM laboratories, AI-enabled classrooms, Chinese immersion programs, and student wellness spaces.^[30][31]

Sustainability

The foundation’s sustainability efforts include support for World Wide Fund for Nature and The Earthshot Prize, as well as initiatives such as Ibis Rice, which promotes biodiversity and wildlife-friendly agriculture in Southeast Asia.^[32][33]

Mental Health

The foundation has identified mental health as one of its core focus areas, with an emphasis on addressing global challenges through scalable, community-based solutions. Its stated goal is to support long-term wellness strategies that strengthen mental health infrastructure and improve access to care, particularly in underserved communities. While the foundation is still in the early stages of building its programmatic footprint in this area, it has signaled a commitment to catalyzing sustainable and inclusive mental health interventions.

Personal life

Saverin emigrated to Singapore in 2009.^[22] Saverin and Elaine Andriejanssen, an Indonesian national of Chinese descent and with partial Dutch ancestry, became engaged on March 27, 2014, were married on June 25, 2015,^[34][35] and have one child.^[5] They met while they were both studying at their respective universities in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, Saverin at Harvard and Andriejanssen at Tufts.^[3] Andriejanssen, who works in the finance industry, comes from a wealthy family that runs several businesses in Indonesia.^[36][37]

Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship in September 2011,^[38][39] thereby avoiding an estimated US$700 million in capital gains taxes. This generated media attention and controversy.^[40][41][42] Saverin claimed that he renounced his citizenship because of his "interest in working and living in Singapore",^[43] and denied that he left the U.S. to avoid paying taxes.^[38]

In 2023, he acquired two chalets in the French ski resort of Courchevel for US$95 million.^[44] They are linked by basements and total over 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft).