Sergey Brin Facts – #50 facts about Google co-founder

Sergey Brin Facts – Biography

Wonder Years of Sergey Brin

1. Born (August, 1973)

Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin is born in the Soviet Union on August 21, 1973.

His family immigrates to the United States when he is only six years old and sets up a new life in Maryland.

2. Studies Maths and Computer Science

Sergey continues in his father’s footsteps, studying math, as well as taking on computer science at the University of Maryland.

He later moves to Stanford University for his doctorate.

Here he makes a new friend, Larry Page and the two starts working in a cramped dorm room on a new search engine.

3. First Search Engine, BackRub-Renamed to Google

The first search engine Brin and Page launch is called BackRub.

This operates on Stanford servers throughout 1996 until it begins to take up too much bandwidth for the university servers to handle.

In 1997, Sergey and Larry decide to rename their search engine after a play on the word googol.

This is a number represented as 1 followed by 100 zeroes.

Thus, Google comes to be, a name representing the endless possibility of information.

Google: co-founded by Sergey Brin

4. Invention of Google

Google is yet another invention that begins in the basement of a simple neighborhood.

Two computer geniuses spend nights at work in Susan Wojcicki’s basement and come up with an internet sensation.

Susan Wojcicki is now serving as the Senior VP of Product Management and her sister Anne Wojcicki is married to Sergey Brin.

5. Launch of Google Inc. in 1998

With the support of family, friends, and outside investors the Sergey and Larry are able to raise US$ 1 million and launch the company Google Inc. in 1998.

Since that time, the Google search engine is the most popular of its kind and receives more than 200 million hits a day.

6. Designing the Google Logo

Google Doodle begins in 2008 when Larry Page and Sergey Brin attend the Burning Man Festival.

Page and Brin, while playing around with a Google logo make a stick figure with the second ‘o’ representing their attendance of the festival.

Thus,the idea begins to observe notable events around the world on their given dates.

7. Google’s Agreements with Multiple Well-Established Companies

Since its inception, Google has been involved in developing and furthering agreements including partnerships with multiple well-established and renowned companies all around the globe.

Such companies include eBay, Netscape and Yahoo.

8. Expansion and Innovation of Google

Sergey Brin is striving for the growth of Google since the year 1999.

Since then Google has expanded substantially and has included other varied and innovative features such as Google Toolbar, chat, email, calendar, Google desktop and many others.

The expansion process for the Google has not come to a halt; instead, Google is still innovating and incorporating many new features.

9. Popularity of Google and its cofounder

Sergey Brin is famous because of his association with the Google.

The popularity of Google can be judged from the fact that on more than a million websites from all around the globe Google and its advertisements appear for free.

10. Google is the Owner of YouTube

Google further branches out and is now the owner of the world famous video sharing website YouTube.

It also creates the Android software that is being used in most cell phones today.

Android is famous for being easy to use and having a large application market.

11. Is Known for His Fringe Projects, Like Google Maps

Sergey Brinis particularly known for the fringe projects he has carried out for Google.

One such Fringe project is the release of ways of showing maps of the inside of a building through Google Maps.

Although this project is not one of the much-publicized projects carried out by Sergey, it is certainly an achievement.

12. Plays a Vital Part in Google Conferences

He also plays a vital part in the conference that is hosted by Google.

Smart people from all around the world take part in this conference.

13. Brin Has a Major Role in Google+

Another project of Google known as Google+ is carried out by the Vic Gunditra, the senior vice president at Google, but Sergey Brin also holds a major role in this project.

14. Efficient Management of Google

Sergey is running Google very efficiently, ensuring the reliability and validity of the information.

He says in one of the Web 2.0 conference that at least once a week he coordinates his entire staff while the rest of the days, he works on the Google’s infrastructure.

15. Criticism of Google for Displaying Offensive Content

In the early time of the establishment of Google, it is criticized for displaying offensive content in its pages and some people even demand to remove such content altogether.

Sergey’s reply to all this criticism is; “I certainly am very offended by the site, but the objectivity of our rankings is one of our very important principles.”

In addition, he said, “Our search results are generated completely objectively and are independent of the beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google.”

16. Work on Other Projects

Along with this space adventures’ project, Sergey and Page are working on another project.

This project is aimed at solving the climate and energy problems that are faced all over the world and it is being carried out by Google.org.

Sergey Brin Family

17. Parents

Sergey’s father, Michael Brin has always dreamed of being an astronomer.

His dream is cut short when he realizes further studies in physics can be hampered because of unofficial anti-Semitic policies in his university.

He takes on Mathematics and at a math conference in Warsaw, Poland, meets people from ‘the West’.

Realizing they are not the monsters the government makes them out to be, Brin decides it is time to take his family to the U.S. and start a new life.

18. Celebrating the Birth of His First Child

Larry Page and Sergey Brin continue their close friendship over the years.

In 2008 Page throws a whacky diaper themed party to celebrate Brin and Wojcicki’s first child.

The party is held in a large warehouse in San Francisco and guests are required to wear baby attire.

This includes adult diapers and footie pajamas for all.

19. Brin’s Children

Sergey Brin and wife Anne Wojcicki have a son, Benji, born in November 2009 and a daughter born in early 2012.

They have donated their children’s DNA to Anne’s genetics-testing business, 23andMe for science.

Their goal is to discover a little more about the children’s genes and find out if there may be any tendencies to develop a disease that they can get a head start on with prevention or treatment, such as Parkinson’s which is hereditary in Sergey’s family history.

Sergey Brin Personality

20. Straightforward and Likes Simplicity

Sergey Brin adopts a very straightforward attitude and values simplicity.

He reveals that the success of Google lies in the Simplicity.

He explains it in these words; “Simplicity is an important trend we are focused on.

Technology has this way of becoming overly complex, but simplicity was one of the reasons that people gravitated to Google initially.

This complexity is an issue that has to be solved for online technologies, for devices, for computers, and it is very difficult.

Success will come from simplicity.”

21. Intelligent, Sweet, Modest and Kind

What words can possibly be used for describing a genius like Sergey? He is one of those celebrities that have the qualities of being intelligent, sweet, modest and kind.

Sergey is quoted as saying ‘I am sometimes something of a lazy person, so when I end up spending a lot of time using something myself…as I did with Google in the earliest of days, I knew it was a big deal.’

22. He is Just Sergey to his Friends and Family

When it comes to his personal life, Sergey is just a normal person to his family and friends instead of a celebrity.

He is quoted to have said on his own website; “I like ordinary and humble people.

Will I be stylish with a black suit? No, I am just Sergey.

And I want to stay just Sergey for my friends, for me, for my family, and for all those that support me and love Google.”

23. Very Open to Criticism

One of the distinguishing qualities about Brin is that he is very open to criticism and easily accepts his mistakes.

Yet, he never compromises on his principles and has openly protested against the censorship of the internet.

Personal Interests of Sergey Brin

24. Loves to Own Private Jets

Like all billionaires, Sergey Brin also loves to own private jets.

One of his jets named Google jet 767-200 has two engines and consists of all deluxe amenities.

He owns Dornier Alpha Fighter Jet that is designed by German and French designers, Dornier and Dassault Breguet respectively.

This jet has technologically advanced equipments that help in the collection of data regarding atmosphere.

25. Passion for Sports Cars

This man has become a billionaire due to his contributions to the Google enterprise.

In one of his interviews, he mentions his passion for sports cars and recently he is spotted driving Toyota Prius.

Though this car is expensive, yet it is environmentally friendly.

26. Interest in Gymnastics

With his tough routine at work, Sergey also manages to take time out for himself and his family.

He has many hobbies and few people know that he is a gymnast.

His passion and interest in gymnastics can be seen from the fact that he takes gymnastics and trapeze learning classes.

In his leisure time, he loves to play roller hockey and indulge in roller-skating.

27. Brin is a Good Cook

What many people are not aware of is that Sergey Brin is a good cook as well.

After leaving his university, he realized that he does not know how to cook and so the urge to learn cooking grows in him.

It is reported by his family that whenever Sergey comes to visit his family, he cooks with his father.

One of the dishes he specializes in is the Chernobyl Chili.

Properties of Sergey Brin

28. Owner of Luxurious Car – Tesla Roader

We can have a fair idea of his passion for cars from the fact that his collection of cars includes Tesla Roader, which is a sports car, built by Elon Musk.

This luxury car is known for its speed and unmatchable acceleration capacity.

29. Owns a Penthouse Worth $8.5 million

This rich and famous search engine co-founder has many properties of which one is located in New York.

In New York on Greenwich Street, he owns a penthouse worth approximately $8.5 million.

The total area that is covered by this house is around 3457 square feet.

30. Luxurious Mansion in Palo Alto

Other properties of Brin include his lavish and luxurious mansion that is located in Palo Alto.

This mansion is spread on an area of 0.75 acres.

Moreover, this mansion is constructed in a way that it is environmentally friendly, thus highlights the fact that Brin is not a careless millionaire but is quite conscious of how his spending affects his surroundings.

Sergey Brin Charity

31. The Brin-Wojcicki Foundation

Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki establish and run the Brin-Wojcicki Foundation.

The foundation has pledged and donated money to many different causes ranging from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for a Parkinson’s cure, to US$ 500,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation.

32. Charitable Efforts of Google.org

Sergey Brin has made a tremendous contribution to society with his company’s charitable efforts through Google.org, which works to solve world problems that are associated with energy, poverty, disease, climate and the environment.

They claim to want to help in solving the “really big problems” that exists in the world.

Sergey Brin Accolades

33. Brin Receives Numerous Awards for Google

He has received many accolades at numerous occasions including recognition for participation in the “World Economic Forum” and The Technology, Entertainment and Design Conference.

The success of Google has helped him in achieving many awards including the Technical Excellence Award in the year 1999 that is presented to him for innovation in the web application development.

Google also receives the People’s Voice Award for Technical Achievement for the year 2000, by the prestigious Webby Awards.

34. Google Receives Best Search Engine Awards in 2001

Year 2001 proves to be a great year for Sergey Brin.

In this year, Google achieves numerous awards including Best Image Search Engine, Best Search Feature, Outstanding Search Service and Most Webmaster Friendly Search Engine, making it one of the best search engines.

35. Appears in the List of the Top 100 Innovators

Sergey Brin is included in the list of the top 100 innovators in the MIT Technology Review TR100 in the year 2001.

36. Brin’s Wife Retail DNA Test Kit, Time magazine’s ‘2008 Invention of the Year’

Sergey Brin’s wife, Anne Wojcicki produces a retail DNA Test Kit, that is named as Time magazine’s ‘2008 Invention of the Year’.

All this simple kit requires is one’s saliva to be mailed back to the organization, and 600,000 genetic markers are read for individuals to view their own genomes.

Whereas similar kits can be priced up to US$ 1000, Wojcicki and her business partner prices their DNA kit at an affordable US$ 339.

37. Fifth Most Powerful People in the World

In November 2009, Sergey Brin and Larry Page are named the fifth most powerful people in the world by Forbes magazine.

38. 24th Richest Person in the World

At a whopping US$ 18.7 billion, Sergey Brin’s personal wealth places him as the 24th richest person in the world (March 2012).

39. Brin is Named an ‘Enlightenment Man’ by Economist Magazine

The Economist magazine has called Brin an ‘Enlightenment Man’ because of his belief in the importance of knowledge and its superiority to ignorance.

This goes perfectly with Google’s motto for taking the world’s information and making it both universally accessible and useful to the masses.

40. Brin-Wojcicki Foundation is No.25thon Chronicles Philanthropy 50 list of the Biggest Charitable Donors

In 2011 the Brin-Wojcicki Foundation is number twenty five in The Chronicles Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest charitable donors.

This year includes a US$ 61.9 million to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

In the year 2012, the Brin-Wojcicki Foundation is ranked the fifth most charitable organization in the United States in the 2012, putting in US$ 223 million to their causes.

Sergey Brin : Inspirational

41. Focuses on His Health as Well as His Work

It has been reported from the people close to Sergey that these days he concentrates on his own physical health more than developing new fringe projects.

He regularly goes to the gym and working out has become a hobby for him.

Thus, he is an ideal example of a person who focuses on work and health at the same time.

42. Wants to Make the World a Better Place to Live

Sergey Brin acknowledges the fact that he, like all other human beings owes to the nature and he believes in giving back to the environment.

In one of his interviews, he states that his sole motivation is not to be successful, but wants to inspire people to be very innovative and ethical and thus, makes this world a better place.

Other Facts about Sergey Brin

43. Sergey Brin Wearing Google Glasses

New Yorkers are in for a treat when Sergey Brin is spotted on the subway wearing Google Glasses.

These ‘augmented reality glasses’ consist of a small screen sitting on the right lens along with a microphone and speakers attached to a camera.

In essence, when connected to the internet, one can readily receive information about individuals passing down the street.

44. Google is a Simple and User Friendly Option

Google’s success has always been seen in the simplicity it has to offer.

Both in its business products, and social networking options Sergey has been recorded as saying that technology has complicated products for many people and Google aims to provide an easy, user friendly option that people have chosen over the chaotic multiple options of its competitors.

45. Executive Producer of film “Broken Arrows”

Sergey Brin is an executive producer of the 2007 film Broken Arrows, With writing and directing accolades to Reid Gershbein, this film is a tale about free will, love and destiny.

46. Investment in Space Adventures

In 2008, Sergey Brin invests US$4. 5 million in a company that is named Space Adventures.

This is a U.S. company for space tourism that sends tourists into orbit.

His investment is seen as part of a future ticket for his flight into outer space.

47. Famous Celebrities Reside in Sergey’s Neighborhood

Sergey has many celebrities, scholars and political personalities as his neighbors at the Greenwich penthouse.

In addition, a large number of actors reside in his street such as Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barbara Pierce Bush and Emma Stone.

48. Takes Care of His Health

Apart from his work, this celebrity is also very concerned about his health and often involves himself in numerous activities such as Yoga and Meditation.

He strongly advocates the idea of adopting a healthy lifestyle.

In many of his interviews, Sergey Brin explains how he keeps himself healthy.

49. Supports the Law of California

Sergey Brin supports law of California that asks to allow the use of driverless cars.

He is reported to have said; “These vehicles have the potential to avoid accidents… we can save lives, create jobs, and reduce congestion.”

In addition, he said; “self-driving cars can transform lives and communities… providing transportation to those not currently served, increasing safety on the road, reducing or eliminating congestion, and turning parking into parkland.”

50. Wants to Get a Seat on Russian Soyuz Flight

One of the projects Sergey has invested is in is Space Adventures.

He has invested approximately $4.5 million in the tourism company of Virginia.

The proposed condition of this investment is that Sergey in the future gets a seat to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz Flight.