Erick Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom, the video conferencing platform, has given shares worth $6 billion to un-specified persons as a donation.
These shares equal to 40% of his stake in the company. The COVID-19 pandemic came with lockdowns and other health protocols thus most companies resorted to working at home. It’s upon this premise that Zoom a video conferencing platform grew to become a household name, as an increasing number of students and professionals connected online to conduct their business and, in the end, boosting the company’s revenue.
According to Forbes, Mr. Yuan’s wealth is estimated at about $13.7 billion. He founded Zoom in 2011 and listed it on the US stock market in 2019 making him a billionaire.
According to a Zoom spokesperson, the distribution was made in accordance with Erick Yuan and his wife’s trusts and was related to Mr. Yuan’s estate planning practices.
Zoom shares greatly increased during the pandemic. At the moment the app has a market valuation of $100 bn.
Edward Moya a senior market analyst at Oanda Trading firm said that Erick Yuan’s decision to transfer more than a third of his stake will raise some eyebrows.
He added that although the Zoom spokesperson had said the transfer was in line with Yuan’s estate typical planning practices, investors will be nervous until they find out the recipients of the stock.
He also said that Yuan is only 51, married and has three children, that the distribution of his wealth could be seen as rushed.
Although vaccines are being rolled out across the world and lockdowns being lifted, Yuan is still confident that people would still work at home which has now become the new way of doing business.
At the Zooms annual results week,the executives projected that growth would continue this year