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Summary: As of 2024, Michael Saylor's net worth is $4.2 billion, stored through his holding of 17,732 Bitcoin and his 13.90% stake in MicroStrategy, the company he co-founded.
Saylor's wealth has fluctuated greatly over the years, from his glory days during the tech boom in the mid-90s to his pivot to Bitcoin in the 2020s.
Who is Michael Saylor?
Michael J. Saylor, an American-born tech entrepreneur, co-founded the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy. Best known for his public image as the most prominent Bitcoin maximalist, he is the 4th wealthiest crypto figure according to Forbes, with a net worth of $4.2 billion.
Saylor's tech journey began at MIT, where a lecture on systems dynamics theory inspired him and his future partner, Sanju Bansal, to found MicroStrategy in 1989. Their early focus was on developing software for data mining, which laid the foundation for the company's growth.
Today, Michael Saylor (@saylor on Twitter) is highly active on social media and at Bitcoin conferences, creating a name for himself as one of the biggest bulls, frequently cited in news outlets for making bold BTC price predictions, such as forecasting $13 million per coin by 2045.
What is Michael Saylor's Net Worth?
Michael Saylor's net worth is estimated at $4.2 billion, based on his ownership of 17,732 Bitcoins purchased in 2020 and his 23,076,000 shares in MicroStrategy. That breaks down to $1.05 billion in BTC holdings and $3.2 billion from MSTR ownership.
Since MicroStrategy functions, in a sense, as a Bitcoin/Crypto company, its stock price closely tracks BTC's performance. The correlation is especially apparent during periods of high volatility leading to Saylor's wealth fluctuating. For example, earlier in 2024, Michael Saylor made $1.2 billion in 3 days, thanks to BTC's rally above $60,000.
In August 2024, MicroStrategy owns 226,500 BTC, with Saylor having 13.90% ownership and 56% voting power. Note in the screenshot below that Saylor's latest disclosed ownership is 2,401,858 shares, but that doesn't account for the recent 10-to-1 stock split and his recent sales of MSTR.
How Did Michael Saylor Get Rich?
The timeline of Saylor's wealth accumulation is particularly interesting. For those familiar with him only through his role in Bitcoin adoption, it may be a shock to learn that he was richer 24 years ago.
MicroStrategy’s first major success came in 1993 when it secured a $10 million deal with McDonald's. In 1998, MicroStrategy went public, and on its first trading day, the company’s shares doubled in value, giving Saylor his first taste of being a billionaire.
In 2000, Saylor's net worth peaked at $7 billion, equivalent to $12.79 billion today (no wonder he hates inflation so much). However, during the 2001 dot-com crash, he lost $6 billion in a single day.
For comparison, we can say that "Bitcoin Saylor" at his recent peak (~$5.4 billion when BTC hit $73,000 and MSTR was ~180 per share) is 42% poorer than the "Tech Saylor" in the early 2000s. Yet, adopting Bitcoin has paid dividends for both Saylor's personal finance and Microstrategy, with MSTR going up 850% since the rebranding.
Interesting Facts About Michael Saylor
Here are 4 additional trivial facts from Saylor's four-decade experience in technology and finance.
- Michael the Inventor: Saylor holds 34 patents, dating back from 1992 to 2021. Yes, we read them to find signs of him being Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Legal Trouble: Saylor has faced several legal challenges, including a 2000 SEC lawsuit where he was fined $350,000 and ordered to pay an additional $8.3 million in personal disgorgement. Recently, Michael paid a $40 million fine to the District of Columbia for alleged tax fraud.
- Bitcoin Holder: Saylor hasn't sold even one coin since his first purchase, even when his position almost got liquidated in 2022. A true example of diamond hands hodler.
- Salary: Michael Saylor reduced his annual salary in MicroStrategy from $875,000 to $1 in 2014. In 2022, he stepped down as CEO and remained as chairman, with his most recent 2024 SEC filing showing the symbolic $1 salary.
What Does Michael Saylor Think About Ethereum?
Saylor is not the biggest fan of Ethereum. In the past, he was very critical, stating that it was an unfinished protocol and questioning its technical and ethical robustness.
Critics have mocked him with Twitter archives from 2013 when he was a non-believer in Bitcoin too, posting "#Bitcoin days are numbered. It seems like just a matter of time before it suffers the same fate as online gambling."
In a recent interview, Saylor acknowledged the advantages of Ethereum. He noted that "digital art, NFTs, tokens, and DeFi" all represent "an entire range of use cases" for crypto. Despite recognizing Ethereum's benefits, Saylor still believes that Bitcoin will remain the leader in the crypto space.
Bottom Line
Michael Saylor is a Bitcoin maximalist with over 35 years in tech and a net worth fluctuating between $3 billion and $5 billion. He has experienced the highs and lows of volatile markets, having gained and lost billions in days.
His current Bitcoin adoption strategy has positioned him and MicroStrategy to own over 1% of the total BTC supply but there are new institutional challengers. Bitcoin ETFs are eating up coins faster than ever with BlackRock’s IBIT, for instance, surpassing MicroStrategy in BTC holdings just 40 days after they started trading.
Yet, Saylor remains the most recognizable face in crypto and has 3.5 million followers on Twitter/X.
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