What Is David Baszucki's Net Worth and Salary?
David Baszucki, a Canadian-born American entrepreneur, inventor, and engineer, boasts a net worth of $2.4 billion. He amassed his wealth as the co-founder and CEO of Roblox Corporation, a renowned video game developer. Before this, he co-founded Knowledge Revolution, which MSC Software acquired for $20 million in 1998.
Early Life
Born on January 20, 1963, in Canada, David Baszucki grew up with his brother Greg. He attended Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota, where he was the captain of the TV quiz team. Following high school, Baszucki enrolled at Stanford University to study computer science and engineering, graduating in 1985 as a General Motors Scholar in electrical engineering.
Career
During the late '80s, David and Greg designed an educational supplement that allowed the creation of 2D physics experiments, named "Interactive Physics." They co-founded Knowledge Revolution to distribute the simulation software, which won numerous awards. This success was followed by "Working Model," a mechanical design software. In 1998, Knowledge Revolution was sold to MSC Software, where David served as vice president and general manager from 2000 to 2002. He then launched the angel investment firm Baszucki & Associates, leading it from 2003 to 2004, and provided seed funding for the social networking site Friendster during this time.
Roblox
In 2004, Baszucki and Erik Cassel, former VP of Engineering at Interactive Physics, started developing a prototype for Roblox, initially called DynaBlocks. By 2005, it was renamed Roblox, and the website was launched in 2006. "Roblox is powered by a global community of millions of developers who produce their own immersive multiplayer experiences each month using Roblox Studio, our intuitive desktop design tool," states the website. Baszucki's 13% stake in Roblox Corporation is valued at approximately $4.2 billion. He has pledged to donate the net proceeds from Roblox's New York Stock Exchange listing to philanthropic causes.
(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)
2020 Compensation
In 2020, David earned $6.8 million from Roblox.
2021 Compensation
In 2021, David's total compensation from Roblox was $233 million, mostly comprising restricted stock options that vest over several years and are contingent on various milestones.
Personal Life
David resides in San Francisco with his wife, Jan Ellison, author of the 'USA Today' bestseller 'A Small Indiscretion: A Novel,' and their four children. In response to the 2020 murder of George Floyd, Baszucki wrote a heartfelt blog post addressing the systemic injustice faced by the Black community and the ongoing struggle for equality.
Between 2016 and 2021, David and Jan donated $6 million to UC San Francisco. In December 2021, the university established the Baszucki Lymphoma Therapeutics Initiative to improve the effectiveness and availability of CAR T therapy for lymphoma patients, inspired by Jan's father's survival from lymphoma thanks to CAR T therapy. The couple also founded the Baszucki Group and the Baszucki Brain Research Fund in March 2021, which partnered with the Milken Institute to launch a grant program aimed at advancing therapeutic discoveries for bipolar disorder.
Awards and Honors
David Baszucki has received numerous accolades, including being named one of Goldman Sachs' '100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs' in 2017 and 2018. 'Comparably' named him one of the 'Best CEOs for Diversity' in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, 'Bloomberg Businessweek' included him in their 'Bloomberg 50' list of people and ideas that defined global business in 2021.
