Dustin Aaron Moskovitz (; born May 22, 1984) is an American billionaire internet entrepreneur who co-founded
Facebook, Inc. (now known as Meta Platforms) with
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
,
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Luiz Saverin ( , ; born March 19, 1982) is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor, known for having co-founded Facebook. In 2012, he owned about 2% of Facebook shares, valued at approximately $2 billion at the time. Base ...
,
Andrew McCollum
Andrew McCollum (born September 4, 1983) is an American angel investor and businessman. He is a co-founder of Facebook and the current chief executive officer of Philo.
Education
McCollum attended Harvard University with co-founder Mark Zucker ...
and
Chris Hughes
Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...
.
In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found
Asana
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...
[Rosenstein, Justi]
"Reply on Quora to: Who is the CEO of Asana?"
Quora
Quora is an American social question-and-answer website and online knowledge market headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was founded on June 25, 2009, and made available to the public on June 21, 2010. Users can post questions, answ ...
, February 8, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011. with
Justin Rosenstein. In March 2011, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' reported Moskovitz to be the youngest self-made billionaire in the world, on the basis of his then 2.34% share in Facebook. According to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', as of May 2025, Moskovitz's estimated net worth stood at US$17.4 billion, making him the 125th richest individual in the world.
Early life
Moskovitz, who is Jewish, was born on May 22, 1984, in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
, and grew up in
Ocala, Florida
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...
.
He attended
Vanguard High School, graduating from the
IB Diploma Program
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...
. Moskovitz attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
as an economics major for two years before he moved with Mark Zuckerberg to
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
, in order to work full-time on Facebook.
Career
Facebook (2004–2008)
Four people, three of whom were roommates—
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
,
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Luiz Saverin ( , ; born March 19, 1982) is a Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur and angel investor, known for having co-founded Facebook. In 2012, he owned about 2% of Facebook shares, valued at approximately $2 billion at the time. Base ...
,
Chris Hughes
Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...
, and Dustin Moskovitz—founded Facebook in their Harvard University dorm room in February 2004. Originally called thefacebook.com, it was intended as an online directory of all Harvard's students to help residential students identify members of other residences.
In June 2004, Zuckerberg, Hughes and Moskovitz took a year off from Harvard and moved Facebook's base of operations to Palo Alto, and hired eight employees.
["Finding Friends with Facebook"](_blank)
, ''Wired
Wired may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976
* ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993
* ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017
* "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street''
* "Wired ...
'', July 3, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2011. They were later joined by
Sean Parker
Sean Parker (born December 3, 1979) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and was the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also co-foun ...
. At Facebook, Moskovitz was the company's first chief technology officer and then vice president of engineering.
Asana (2008–present)
On October 3, 2008, Moskovitz announced that he was leaving Facebook to form a new company called
Asana
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...
with
Justin Rosenstein, an engineering manager at Facebook. Asana's mission is to improve the efficiency of office workers, providing them with a tool to manage and track projects and tasks. Moskowitz has remained CEO, with Rosenstein now serving as board member and advisor. In September 2020, Asana went public at a market value of about $5.5 billion in a
direct listing.
In March 2025, Moskovitz announced his intention to retire from the company and transition to a chairman role once the company's board finds a replacement CEO.
Around that time, he held a 53% stake in the company.
Philanthropy
Moskovitz co-founded the philanthropic organization
Good Ventures with his girlfriend (and now wife)
Cari Tuna in 2011. In June 2012, Good Ventures announced a close partnership with charity evaluator
GiveWell
GiveWell is an American non-profit charity assessment and effective altruism-focused organization. GiveWell focuses primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the organizations that it evaluates, rather than traditional metrics such as the percenta ...
. Both organizations "are aiming to do as much good as possible" and thereby align with the goals of
effective altruism
Effective altruism (EA) is a 21st-century philosophical and social movement that advocates impartially calculating benefits and prioritizing causes to provide the greatest good. It is motivated by "using evidence and reason to figure out how to b ...
.
Good Ventures has donated approximately $100 million from 2011 onward to GiveWell top charities
Against Malaria Foundation
The Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) is a United-Kingdom based charity that provides long-lasting insecticidal nets to populations at high risk of malaria, primarily in Africa. The foundation has distributed more than 200 million nets since its cr ...
,
GiveDirectly,
Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and
Deworm the World Initiative, as well as standout charities and other effective altruist organizations.
The collaboration with GiveWell led to a spinoff called the
Open Philanthropy Project, whose goal is to figure out the best possible way to use large sums of money (starting with Moskovitz's multi-billion-dollar fortune) to do the best.
Renamed to just "Open Philanthropy", it has since become a separate organization, and continuously increases its annual giving, having made over $170 million in grants in 2018. Moskowitz is a supporter of using rationality to guide his decision-making. In 2023, Moskovitz through Open Philanthropy donated $900,000 to scientists in Africa, Asia, and South America to further study the impacts of climate change.
Moskovitz and Tuna are also the youngest couple to sign
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
and
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
's
Giving Pledge, which commits billionaires to give away most of their wealth in the form of philanthropy. Dustin is also a signatory of The
Giving What We Can
Giving What We Can (GWWC) is an effective altruism nonprofit that promotes effective giving through education, outreach, and advocacy around the 10% Pledge, which encourages members to donate at least 10% of their income to effective charities. ...
Pledge.
Politics
Moskovitz has voted for the
Democratic Party candidates in each election in which he has voted, but he wrote: "Though we've voted for the Democratic nominee each of the times we've cast a ballot, we've considered ourselves independent thinkers who respect candidates and positions from both sides of the aisle."
Prior to their donation for the 2016 election cycle, Moskovitz and Tuna had donated roughly $10,000 over their lifetime to federal candidates, most of it to
Sean Eldridge
Sean Eldridge (born July 31, 1986) is a Canadian-born American political activist from New York. Eldridge is the founder and president of Stand Up America, a progressive advocacy community. He previously served as political director of Freedom t ...
, the husband of Facebook co-founder
Chris Hughes
Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...
.
Moskovitz, through his support of Open Philanthropy, has contributed to California
YIMBY
The YIMBY movement (short for "yes in my back yard") is a pro-housing social movement that focuses on encouraging new housing, opposing density limits (such as single-family zoning), and supporting public transportation. It stands in opposition ...
. Open Philanthropy, mainly funded by Moskovitz and his wife, has donated around $500,000 to the cause. Open Philanthropy also contributed $2 million to the New York City based YIMBY group Open New York.
For the
2016 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
, Moskovitz announced that he and his wife would donate $20 million to support
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
, the Democratic Party nominee, arguing that the dangers of a
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
presidency were significant, and that they were making their donation despite being skeptical of allowing large donors to influence election cycles through money.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' quoted Moskovitz's blog post on the subject: "The Republican Party, and Donald Trump in particular, is running on a zero-sum vision, stressing a false contest between their constituency and the rest of the world."
This made him the third-largest donor in the 2016 campaigns.
For the
2020 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
, Moskovitz donated $24 million to support the Democratic Party nominee
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
. Asana's own listed contributions for the election cycle, which are almost all directly from Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna, reached around $45 million. This makes Asana the second largest contributor to Biden's presidential campaign after
Bloomberg LP
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately-held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zeg ...
.
For the
2024 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...
, Moskovitz donated $10 million to support the Democratic Party nominee
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
via the
Future Forward PAC, with a further $38 million via Asana, making Asana the largest non-PAC donor.
Other business activities
Moskovitz was also the biggest
angel investor
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible de ...
in the mobile photo-sharing site
Path
A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail.
Path or PATH may also refer to:
Physical paths of different types
* Bicycle path
* Bridle path, used by people on horseback
* Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle
* Desir ...
, run by another former member of Facebook, David Morin. It was reported
[Lacy, Sara]
"Inside the DNA of the Facebook Mafia"
, Techcrunch
TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
I ...
, February 13, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011. that Moskovitz's advice was important in persuading Morin to reject a $100 million offer for the company from
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
, made in February 2011.
[Arrington, Mike]
"Google Tried To Buy ''Path'' For $100+ Million. Path Said No."
, ''Techcrunch
TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
I ...
'', February 2, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011. In 2020, Moskovitz led a $40 million Series D funding round for fusion power start-up
Helion Energy
Helion Energy, Inc. is an American fusion research company, located in Everett, Washington. They are developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce helium-3 and fusion power via aneutronic fusion, which could produce low-cost clean ...
.
Personal life
Moskovitz met
Cari Tuna on a
blind date
A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before.
Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...
, and they married in 2013.
He and Tuna attend
Burning Man
Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...
regularly, and Moskovitz has written about his reasons for doing so.
Media depictions
Moskovitz is played in the movie ''
The Social Network
''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book '' The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networkin ...
'' by actor
Joseph Mazzello
Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in ''Jurassic Park'', Roarke Hartman in '' The River Wild'', Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'', Dustin ...
. Responding to a question on
Quora
Quora is an American social question-and-answer website and online knowledge market headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was founded on June 25, 2009, and made available to the public on June 21, 2010. Users can post questions, answ ...
, Moskovitz said that the film "emphasizes things that didn't matter (like the
Winklevoss brothers, whom I've still never even met and had no part in the work we did to create the site over the past 6 years) and leaves out things that did (like the many other people in our lives at the time, who supported us in innumerable ways)."
[Moskovitz, Dusti]
"Reply on Quora to: What does Dustin Moskovitz think of the Facebook movie?"
, ''Quora
Quora is an American social question-and-answer website and online knowledge market headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was founded on June 25, 2009, and made available to the public on June 21, 2010. Users can post questions, answ ...
'', July 16, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moskovitz, Dustin
1984 births
Living people
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American philanthropists
American billionaires
American computer businesspeople
American technology company founders
Businesspeople from Florida
Facebook employees
Harvard University alumni
People associated with effective altruism
People from Gainesville, Florida
YIMBY activists
American housing rights activists