Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google and one of the world’s richest men, donated Alphabet stock worth about $700 million (about ₹6,000 crore) without fanfare, reported Bloomberg.
Most of this donation flowed to Catalyst4, a nongovernmental organization established by Brin that sought to support research in central nervous system diseases and climate change. Another 580,000 shares went to his family foundation, while 282,000 shares were donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which deals with Parkinson’s disease research.
Previous regulatory disclosures had reported Brin donating 4.1 million Alphabet shares, but the recipients were not initially identified. This sizable donation follows a pattern of philanthropic giving in his past.
Brin donated $600 million in 2023 at the unveiling of Google’s AI-driven search engine and then donated another $100 million in 2024. Brin has sold more than $11 billion worth of stock since Google went public in 2004.
He has long been dedicated to research on Parkinson’s disease and patronizes progressive causes like psychedelic research and a $155 billion scheme to construct ‘energy islands’ off Copenhagen.
Who is Sergey Brin?
Despite having resigned as Alphabet president in 2019, Brin is still a member of the board and wields tremendous voting power. Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. at age six to flee anti-Semitic persecution.
In 1998, while a student at Stanford University, Brin co-founded Google with Larry Page. Their invention changed internet usage across the globe. In 2015, they formed Alphabet, the holding company overseeing everything from YouTube to autonomous automobiles.
Brin’s net worth still hovers around $134 billion (Rs. 11.52 lakh crore) despite his big donations, placing him at number 8 among the world’s richest, as per Forbes.
