Maybe Reid Hoffman Won’t Be an Instant Billionaire: Updated
Am I the only one who was disappointed with LinkedIn's financials when it filed its S-1 today? The first thing I did when I opened its S-1 was to look at the stock holdings of Reid Hoffman (pictured), its founder. Wow, I thought to myself, Hoffman owns about 19 million shares, making him the company’s largest shareholder, with a 21.4% stake. Assuming – conservatively, I thought – the stock goes to 100 bucks within six months, Hoffman is sitting on just under $2 billion. (Note that LinkedIn has not priced its shares yet.) The company’s VC backers would also make a mint under my initial thinking, most notably Sequoia Capital, with 16.8 million shares, or an 18.9% stake; and Greylock Partners (where Hoffman is a general partner), with about 14 million shares, or a 15.8% stake. (Bessemer Partners holds about 4.6 million shares, or a 5.1% stake.) (See table below.) Then I looked at LinkedIn’s financials and I felt deflated.
