Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Co-founder, former Co-CEO, and Executive Chairman of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the global leader in streaming entertainment. His career is rooted in mathematics, education, and serial entrepreneurial disruption.

Hastings holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Bowdoin College (1983) and an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University. His career began as a Peace Corps volunteer (teaching mathematics in Eswatini (Swaziland)). His philosophical approach centers on technological disruption, consumer value (all-you-can-eat content), and radical corporate culture (the Netflix culture deck).

• Netflix, Inc. (Co-founder & Executive Chairman): The core publicly traded asset, the dominant global subscription streaming service (operating in 190 countries with 270 million+ subscribers).
• Pure Software (Founder & Former CEO): His first company, a software debugging tool (sold to Rational Software for $750 million in 1997).
• Streaming Pioneer: His success is built on pioneering the DVD-by-mail model and orchestrating the pivot to subscription streaming (transforming the global entertainment industry).
• Philanthropy: He is a Giving Pledge signatory and committed to high-impact educational reform (funding charter schools).

Reed Hastings's strategic genius was his commitment to solving consumer friction and his audacious pivot to streaming. 1991: Pure Software. He founded Pure Software (which went public and was sold in 1997). 1997: Netflix. He co-founded Netflix (with Marc Randolph)—the idea allegedly stemming from a late fee at Blockbuster. Netflix initially offered DVD-by-mail.

His structural contribution is immense: pioneering the subscription streaming model (launching streaming in 2007), fundamentally transforming global media and entertainment consumption. He stepped down as Co-CEO in 2023, remaining Executive Chairman. His wealth is secured by the colossal, long-term, stable profitability of the global streaming media sector.

Reed Hastings is a major global philanthropist and a Giving Pledge signatory. His structural social impact is tied to Netflix's role in transforming global media consumption and content creation (pioneering content ownership). His personal philanthropy focuses intensely on education reform (donating $100 million to educational foundations). His structural contribution is tied to his belief in technological disruption and the power of entrepreneurship to achieve scale social change.

His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives.

Reed Hastings maintains the professional, composed style of a technology executive. His attire is consistently formal and high-quality, favoring tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects serious authority and intellectual depth, typical of a pioneer in the global tech sector.

Residing in Santa Cruz, California, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to technology innovation, media strategy, and educational philanthropy.