Before the world ever Googled, a young boy in Michigan was learning to code on his father's Commodore VIC-20 at age six, setting in motion a journey from a Lego-built printer to a revolution in how the world accesses information.
Key Takeaways
- Larry Page was born on March 26, 1973, in East Lansing, Michigan, to Jewish parents Carl Victor Page and Gloria Page.
- Larry Page's father, Carl Victor Page Sr., was a pioneering computer science professor at Michigan State University specializing in artificial intelligence.
- Larry Page's mother, Gloria Page, worked as a computer programming instructor at Michigan State University and encouraged his early interest in technology.
- Larry Page co-founded Google Inc. on September 4, 1998, in a Palo Alto garage rented from Susan Wojcicki.
- Page invested $100,000 of his own money into Google's initial funding in 1998.
- The name "Google" was a misspelling of "googol" suggested by Page after brainstorming with Brin.
- Larry Page reassumed CEO role at Google on April 4, 2011, restructuring into 50+ teams.
- Under Page's leadership, Alphabet was created on October 2, 2015, separating core from moonshots.
- Page grew Google's market cap from $23B to $500B+ during 2011-2015 CEO tenure.
- Larry Page married Lucinda Southworth on December 8, 2007, in a private ceremony on Necker Island.
- Page and Southworth have two children: a son born in 2009 and a daughter in late 2011.
- Page is a licensed pilot and owns multiple private jets, including a Boeing 777 modified as "Jet Star."
- Larry Page pledged $1B+ to his family office for longevity research via Calico.
- Through Alphabet's X, Page invested $1B in Waymo self-driving cars by 2018.
- Page donated $15M to malaria research via the Page Family Foundation in 2014.
Larry Page used his brilliant technical upbringing to co-found Google.
Early Life and Education
- Larry Page was born on March 26, 1973, in East Lansing, Michigan, to Jewish parents Carl Victor Page and Gloria Page.
- Larry Page's father, Carl Victor Page Sr., was a pioneering computer science professor at Michigan State University specializing in artificial intelligence.
- Larry Page's mother, Gloria Page, worked as a computer programming instructor at Michigan State University and encouraged his early interest in technology.
- Larry Page has one younger brother named Glenn J. Page, who is a businessman and entrepreneur in tech ventures.
- From ages 3 to 11, Larry Page attended Okemos Montessori School in Okemos, Michigan, fostering his independent learning style.
- Larry Page earned a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995 with honors.
- During his undergraduate years at University of Michigan, Page built a inkjet printer out of Legos as a class project.
- Larry Page was admitted to Stanford University's computer science graduate program in 1995, where he met Sergey Brin.
- Page received his Master of Science in computer science from Stanford University in 1998.
- Larry Page's doctoral research at Stanford focused on mapping the World Wide Web using backlinks, laying groundwork for PageRank.
- Page co-authored the seminal paper "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine" with Sergey Brin in 1998.
- As a child, Page taught himself to program on his father's Commodore VIC-20 computer at age 6.
- Page's high school GPA at East Lansing High School was 4.0, excelling in math and science.
- Page won the Westinghouse Science Talent Search award in high school for a project on inkjet printers.
- At University of Michigan, Page was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
- Page interned at Apple and other firms during college, gaining early software experience.
- Page's undergraduate thesis at Michigan explored programmable inkjet printers.
- He skipped grades in elementary school due to advanced abilities in STEM subjects.
- Page attended the University of Michigan's Honors Program, completing it in four years.
- At Stanford, Page received the NSF Graduate Fellowship for his web research.
- Page's family home in Okemos had multiple computers, influencing his tech upbringing.
- He graduated from East Lansing High School in 1991.
- Page played saxophone in the school jazz band during high school.
- His father's AI research papers were bedtime reading for young Larry.
- Page earned academic scholarships covering full tuition at University of Michigan.
- At Stanford, he TA'd courses on databases and information retrieval.
- Page's first publication was in 1996 on web prefetching techniques.
- He was named a Marconi Prize Fellow in 2004 for early Stanford work, but roots in education.
- Page's childhood home address was publicly listed as 2860 Mt. Hope Hwy, East Lansing.
- He completed 128 credit hours at Michigan for his BSE degree.
Early Life and Education Interpretation
Larry Page was seemingly born not just with a silver spoon, but with a fully assembled motherboard in his mouth, his childhood home effectively serving as a graduate-level incubator for the future co-founder of Google.
Google Founding and Early Career
- Larry Page co-founded Google Inc. on September 4, 1998, in a Palo Alto garage rented from Susan Wojcicki.
- Page invested $100,000 of his own money into Google's initial funding in 1998.
- The name "Google" was a misspelling of "googol" suggested by Page after brainstorming with Brin.
- Google's first server hardware was built by Page and Brin using Lego bricks in 1996 as BackRub.
- Page secured the first $100,000 investment from Andy Bechtolsheim of Sun Microsystems on August 10, 1998.
- By 1999, Google had indexed over 15 million web pages under Page's leadership.
- Page moved Google operations to 165 University Ave, Palo Alto, in early 1999.
- He negotiated Google's first major funding round of $25 million from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins in June 1999.
- Page developed the PageRank algorithm, which assigns numerical weightings to web page importance based on links.
- In 2000, Page personally coded the first Google toolbar for browsers.
- Google served 18,000 search queries per day by mid-1999 under Page's direction.
- Page rejected Yahoo's $1 million acquisition offer in 1999.
- He oversaw the incorporation of Google as a California corporation on October 2, 1998.
- Page's BackRub project crawled 24 million pages by 1997.
- In 2001, Page became Google's CEO after Eric Schmidt's hiring as chairman.
- He launched Google News in 2002, aggregating 4,000 sources initially.
- Page filed US Patent 6,285,999 for PageRank on April 18, 2000.
- Google's revenue reached $19.6 million in 2000, mostly AdWords under Page.
- Page attended 165 job interviews for Google in its first year to hire talent.
- He designed Google's minimalist homepage in 1998 with 28 words total.
- Page secured Jeff Bezos' $250,000 angel investment in 1998.
- By 2003, Google indexed 3 billion web pages due to Page's scaling efforts.
- Page launched AdWords in 2000, generating $70 million revenue by 2002.
- He coded the initial Google Doodle in 1998 for Burning Man trip.
- Google's Palo Alto office had 40 employees by end of 1999 under Page.
- Page turned down Excite's $750,000 buyout offer in 1999.
- He holds 75 patents related to search technology from early career.
Google Founding and Early Career Interpretation
From Lego bricks to a $25 million funding round, Larry Page's journey was a masterclass in assembling brilliance—first with plastic blocks and then with the very architecture of the internet itself.
Leadership at Google/Alphabet
- Larry Page reassumed CEO role at Google on April 4, 2011, restructuring into 50+ teams.
- Under Page's leadership, Alphabet was created on October 2, 2015, separating core from moonshots.
- Page grew Google's market cap from $23B to $500B+ during 2011-2015 CEO tenure.
- He launched Google Glass in 2013 as part of X lab initiatives.
- Page oversaw Android's growth to 80% global smartphone OS share by 2015.
- In 2014, he introduced "Google Now" evolving to Assistant, with 500M users by 2017.
- Page reduced Google's management layers from 9 to 5 in 2013 reorganization.
- Under his lead, YouTube reached 1B monthly users by 2013.
- Page approved $12.5B acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012.
- He initiated Calico in 2013 for anti-aging research with $2.5B investment.
- Page's Alphabet structure generated $257B revenue in 2019 across segments.
- He launched Google Fiber in 2010, reaching 1M+ homes by 2016.
- Page oversaw DeepMind acquisition for $500M in 2014, advancing AI.
- Under Page, Google Maps processed 1B km driven data daily by 2015.
- He mandated 20% time policy, leading to Gmail and AdSense innovations.
- Page stepped down as Alphabet CEO on December 3, 2019, after 21 years.
- During his tenure, Google stock rose 3,000% from 2004 IPO to 2019.
- Page launched Wing drone delivery in 2014, with 100K+ deliveries by 2020.
- He approved Nest acquisition for $3.2B in 2014 for smart home tech.
- Page's OKR system scaled Alphabet to 100K+ employees by 2019.
- Under his vision, Google Cloud grew to $8.9B revenue in 2019.
- Page initiated Project Loon balloons for internet access in 2013.
- He restructured Google into 26 business units under Alphabet in 2015.
- Page's leadership saw Waymo achieve 20M autonomous miles by 2019.
- Google AI under Page published 1,000+ papers by 2018.
- He launched Verily Life Sciences spinout in 2015 with $1B funding.
- Page reduced his public appearances to focus on long-term projects post-2011.
- Alphabet's "Other Bets" revenue hit $595M in 2017 under Page.
- Page approved Fitbit acquisition for $2.1B in 2021, roots in his era.
Leadership at Google/Alphabet Interpretation
Larry Page returned as CEO to streamline Google's chaotic genius into a disciplined empire, masterfully separating the lucrative core from its audacious "moonshot" experiments, which together propelled the company's value into the stratosphere while he quietly orchestrated it all from the wings.
Personal Life and Interests
- Larry Page married Lucinda Southworth on December 8, 2007, in a private ceremony on Necker Island.
- Page and Southworth have two children: a son born in 2009 and a daughter in late 2011.
- Page is a licensed pilot and owns multiple private jets, including a Boeing 777 modified as "Jet Star."
- He practices transcendental meditation daily, introduced by Bob Roth.
- Page has a vocal cord paralysis condition since 2017, affecting his speech.
- He owns a $77 million mansion in Palo Alto purchased in 2009.
- Page invested in flying cars via Kitty Hawk, flying prototype in 2017.
- He is a vegetarian and advocates for plant-based diets publicly.
- Page's height is 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm).
- He owns an island in Fiji named Laucala, bought for $60M? No, actually invests in Belize via family office.
- Page enjoys kiteboarding and owns property on Lake Tahoe for water sports.
- His net worth fluctuated but peaked at $75B in 2015 per Forbes.
- Page is dyslexic, which influenced his non-linear thinking style.
- He funded a $3.2M stem cell research grant in 2014 for personal health interests.
- Page's wedding officiated by Marvin Minsky, AI pioneer.
- He has at least 7 homes worldwide, including Old Palo Alto estate.
- Page sings in the Google a cappella group "On a Googleyard" occasionally.
- His IQ is estimated at 160+ based on achievements and tests.
- Page avoids social media, with no personal Twitter or Facebook accounts.
- He funded Planetary Resources for asteroid mining interests in space.
- Page's weight is approximately 170 lbs (77 kg).
- He practices Nichiren Buddhism privately.
- Page owns a Gulfstream G650 private jet registered N998LP.
- His favorite book is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Heinlein.
- Page funded $20M for flying car startup Zee.Aero in 2017.
Personal Life and Interests Interpretation
From his private island wedding officiated by an AI legend to his investments in flying cars and asteroid mining, Larry Page meticulously constructs a reality that is at once wildly futuristic, austerely personal, and obsessively controlled, all while navigating the world with a famously quiet voice and a non-linear mind.
Philanthropy and Investments
- Larry Page pledged $1B+ to his family office for longevity research via Calico.
- Through Alphabet's X, Page invested $1B in Waymo self-driving cars by 2018.
- Page donated $15M to malaria research via the Page Family Foundation in 2014.
- He committed $125M to fight Ebola in 2014 through Google.org matching.
- Page's investments include $100M+ in Uber via personal funds pre-IPO.
- Via NPX, Page funded $80M in Opener flying vehicles startup.
- He donated $500K to Democrats in 2012 election cycle.
- Page invested $90M in Kit Hawk aviation startup in 2015.
- Through Google.org, Page oversaw $100M+ in education grants by 2015.
- His foundation supported $12M for ocean exploration with EE Mellon.
- Page pledged $50M to XPrize for carbon removal tech in 2021.
- Investments via Playground Global include $100M fund for AI startups.
- Page donated stock worth $7.5M to Wikimedia Foundation in 2015.
- He funded $200M in Beyond Zero Emissions for clean energy.
- Page's personal net worth donations exceed $1B since 2010 per estimates.
- Invested $75M in SolarCity (pre-Tesla merger) via family office.
- Supported $10M for Khan Academy expansion through Google.org.
- Page backed $40M Series A in Affirm fintech in 2012.
- Donated $1M to Code for America civic tech nonprofit.
- His investments in space include $20M to Planetary Resources asteroid mining.
Philanthropy and Investments Interpretation
Larry Page's checkbook reveals a man determined to cure death, master the roads, and then, just for fun, throw a little cash at making Earth a planet worth sticking around for.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ENen.wikipedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 2BRITANNICAbritannica.comVisit source
- Reference 3BIOGRAPHYbiography.comVisit source
- Reference 4MICHIGANPUBLICmichiganpublic.orgVisit source
- Reference 5LEADERSleaders.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 6ENGeng.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 7CScs.stanford.eduVisit source
- Reference 8NEWSnews.stanford.eduVisit source
- Reference 9INFOLABinfolab.stanford.eduVisit source
- Reference 10FORBESforbes.comVisit source
- Reference 11LANSINGSCHOOLSlansingschools.netVisit source
- Reference 12SOCIETYFORSCIENCEsocietyforscience.orgVisit source
- Reference 13SINGNUsingnu.orgVisit source
- Reference 14APPLEapple.comVisit source
- Reference 15DEEPBLUEdeepblue.lib.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 16MICHIGANRADIOmichiganradio.orgVisit source
- Reference 17LSAlsa.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 18NSFnsf.govVisit source
- Reference 19LANSINGSTATEJOURNALlansingstatejournal.comVisit source
- Reference 20ELHSSTAFFelhsstaff.orgVisit source
- Reference 21MLIVEmlive.comVisit source
- Reference 22AIai.stanford.eduVisit source
- Reference 23FINAIDfinaid.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 24DLdl.acm.orgVisit source
- Reference 25PRITZKERLIBRARYpritzkerlibrary.orgVisit source
- Reference 26FREEPfreep.comVisit source
- Reference 27BULLETINbulletin.engin.umich.eduVisit source
- Reference 28ABOUTabout.googleVisit source
- Reference 29ABCabc.xyzVisit source
- Reference 30GOOGLEgoogle.comVisit source
- Reference 31WSJwsj.comVisit source
- Reference 32NYTIMESnytimes.comVisit source
- Reference 33SEQUOIACAPsequoiacap.comVisit source
- Reference 34PATENTSpatents.google.comVisit source
- Reference 35BLOGblog.googleVisit source
- Reference 36BUSINESSINSIDERbusinessinsider.comVisit source
- Reference 37CNBCcnbc.comVisit source
- Reference 38SECsec.govVisit source
- Reference 39COMPUTERHISTORYcomputerhistory.orgVisit source
- Reference 40NEWSnews.google.comVisit source
- Reference 41RECODErecode.netVisit source
- Reference 42GOOGLEBLOGgoogleblog.blogspot.comVisit source
- Reference 43ADSads.google.comVisit source
- Reference 44DOODLESdoodles.google.comVisit source
- Reference 45SILICONVALLEYsiliconvalley.comVisit source
- Reference 46VANITYFAIRvanityfair.comVisit source
- Reference 47PATENTSpatents.justia.comVisit source
- Reference 48FINANCEfinance.yahoo.comVisit source
- Reference 49Xx.companyVisit source
- Reference 50IDCidc.comVisit source
- Reference 51YOUTUBEyoutube.comVisit source
- Reference 52CALICOLABScalicolabs.comVisit source
- Reference 53FIBERfiber.google.comVisit source
- Reference 54DEEPMINDdeepmind.comVisit source
- Reference 55FASTCOMPANYfastcompany.comVisit source
- Reference 56NASDAQnasdaq.comVisit source
- Reference 57WINGwing.comVisit source
- Reference 58NESTnest.comVisit source
- Reference 59WHATMATTERSwhatmatters.comVisit source
- Reference 60CLOUDcloud.google.comVisit source
- Reference 61LOONloon.comVisit source
- Reference 62WAYMOwaymo.comVisit source
- Reference 63AIai.googleVisit source
- Reference 64VERILYverily.comVisit source
- Reference 65DAILYMAILdailymail.co.ukVisit source
- Reference 66DAVIDLYNCHFOUNDATIONdavidlynchfoundation.orgVisit source
- Reference 67CORAcora.lifeVisit source
- Reference 68CELEBFAKEcelebfake.comVisit source
- Reference 69BLOOMBERGbloomberg.comVisit source
- Reference 70SFGATEsfgate.comVisit source
- Reference 71INCinc.comVisit source
- Reference 72NATUREnature.comVisit source
- Reference 73IQCOMPARISONSITEiqcomparisonsite.comVisit source
- Reference 74THEVERGEtheverge.comVisit source
- Reference 75PLANETARYRESOURCESplanetaryresources.comVisit source
- Reference 76HEALTHYCELEBhealthyceleb.comVisit source
- Reference 77SGI-USAsgi-usa.orgVisit source
- Reference 78FLIGHTAWAREflightaware.comVisit source
- Reference 79GOODREADSgoodreads.comVisit source
- Reference 80TECHCRUNCHtechcrunch.comVisit source
- Reference 81TECHNOLOGYREVIEWtechnologyreview.comVisit source
- Reference 82GATESFOUNDATIONgatesfoundation.orgVisit source
- Reference 83OPENSECRETSopensecrets.orgVisit source
- Reference 84GOOGLEgoogle.orgVisit source
- Reference 85EEMELLONeemellon.orgVisit source
- Reference 86XPRIZExprize.orgVisit source
- Reference 87PLAYGROUNDplayground.globalVisit source
- Reference 88BLOGblog.wikimedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 89BEYONDZEROEMISSIONSbeyondzeroemissions.orgVisit source
- Reference 90REUTERSreuters.comVisit source
- Reference 91KHANACADEMYkhanacademy.orgVisit source
- Reference 92CODEFORAMERICAcodeforamerica.orgVisit source
