Niraj S. Shah ( hi, नीरज शाह) (born 1973/1974) is an
Indian-American billionaire businessman, and co-founder, co-chairman, and CEO of online retailer
Wayfair.
Early life
Shah grew up in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the son of immigrants from India.
His grandfather ran a "steel manufacturing business in India, making pots and pans".
His father worked for
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
as a mechanical engineer, and after his retirement, joined Wayfair early on, providing financial advice, and still works for the company.
Shah graduated from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...
, where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1995.
Career
Shah co-founded Wayfair in 2002 with his Cornell classmate,
Steve Conine,
and has been its CEO since its inception.
Shah was included in the ''
Fortune'' list of "40 under 40" for 2013.
In 2017, Shah became a director of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the Federal Reserve Bank, First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers New England: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and all ...
.
In May 2017, Wayfair's share price rose above $70 per share, making Shah and his co-founder
Steve Conine both billionaires. As of April 2022, his estimated net worth was $1.6 billion.
Philanthropy
Shah co-founded the Shah Family Foundation with his wife Jill in 2017, which supports education and healthcare programs.
Personal life
Shah is married to Jill Shah; they have two children, and live in the
Back Bay
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and ...
area of Boston.
In 2013, Jill Shah sold her alternative medicine directory Jill's List, which employed 7 people, to California-based
MINDBODY, and now runs their Boston office.
References
External links
Shah Family Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Niraj
1970s births
American billionaires
American company founders
Cornell University alumni
Federal Reserve Bank people
Living people
People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts