Reid Garrett Hoffman is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Co-founder and former Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, the dominant professional social networking service, and a Partner at Greylock Partners (venture capital). His career is rooted in philosophy, social networking, and elite technology investment.

Hoffman holds a B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and an M.A. in Philosophy from Oxford University (1993). His philosophical approach centers on scale, networking effects, and long-term commitment to digital identity and professional connection. His structural contribution is immense: pioneering the professional social network model.

• LinkedIn (Co-founder & Former Executive Chairman): The core publicly traded asset, the dominant professional social networking platform (sold to Microsoft for $26.2 billion in 2016).
• Greylock Partners (Partner): His core private asset, a major venture capital firm specializing in early-stage technology (investing in Airbnb, Facebook, and Zynga).
• Academic Background: He holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Oxford University and a B.S. from Stanford.
• Philanthropy: He is a Giving Pledge signatory and committed to high-impact technology and political philanthropy (focusing on AI safety, democracy, and effective altruism).

Reid Hoffman's strategic genius was his commitment to the professional identity layer of the Internet. He worked at Apple and Fujitsu before serving on the Board of Directors of PayPal (where he was a key figure in the PayPal Mafia). 2003: LinkedIn. He co-founded LinkedIn (with Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, and Jean-Luc Vaillant). His structural contribution is immense: pioneering the concept of professional identity as a network.

He became a Partner at Greylock Partners in 2009, applying his operational experience to high-impact venture creation. The pinnacle of his financial career was the $26.2 billion sale of LinkedIn to Microsoft in 2016. His wealth is secured by the colossal liquid gains from the LinkedIn sale and his long-term equity stakes.

Reid Hoffman is a major global philanthropist and a Giving Pledge signatory. His structural social impact is tied to LinkedIn's role in shaping professional careers and recruitment globally. His personal philanthropy focuses intensely on AI safety, democracy defense, and Effective Altruism (EA), providing massive structural funding for future-focused issues. His structural contribution is tied to his belief in technology as a force for positive networking effects and rational political governance.

His personal philanthropy supports various community and educational initiatives.

Reid Hoffman 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 stability, typical of a pioneer in the global tech sector.

Residing in Palo Alto, California, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to venture capital strategy, technology innovation, and philanthropic reform.