Early Life
Jerry Yang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 6, 1968. His father passed away when he was two years old. In 1978, his mother moved the family to San Jose, California. Yang excelled in school, learning English quickly and graduating as the valedictorian of his high school class. He then pursued and received both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
Rise to Success
While at Stanford, Yang met David Filo, and together they created "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" in 1994. The directory of websites quickly gained popularity and was renamed Yahoo! Inc. in March 1995. Yahoo! went public in April 1996, and its stock price soared. Yang served as CEO of Yahoo! from 2007 to 2009. During his time at Yahoo, the company made a strategic investment in Alibaba in 2005.
Key Business Strategies
Yang's leadership at Yahoo! involved a collaborative and innovative approach. A key strategy was to focus on innovation and constantly improve. After leaving Yahoo!, Yang founded AME Cloud Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in data-focused startups.
Philanthropy
Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki, are known for their philanthropy, particularly in education, conservation, and the arts. In 2007, they gave $75 million to Stanford University, with a significant portion funding the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building. They also made a significant donation to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.