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Patrick Collison
Photo: randy stewart, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons21

Patrick Collison

Irish entrepreneur (born 1988)

Patrick Collison (born 9 September 1988) is an Irish entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the chief executive officer of Stripe, which he co-founded with his younger brother, John, in 2010.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Patrick Collison (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Sep 9, 1988.1

About

A billionaire since 2016, his net worth as of August 2026 is estimated at $17.5 billion.

Originally from the west of Ireland, Collison won that country’s 41st Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in 2005 at the age of sixteen. In 2021, he co-founded Arc Institute, a nonprofit research organization, with bioscientists Silvana Konermann and Patrick Hsu. In 2026, he co-founded the Rhine Group, a policy forum and think tank, with former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi.

From Wikipedia’s article on Patrick Collison, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • 2006 to 2010Massachusetts Institute of Technology3
  • Date not recordedCastletroy College3

Patrick Collison was born in Limerick on 9 September 1988 to microbiologist Lily and electronic engineer Denis Collison. He and his brothers were brought up in the small village of Dromineer in County Tipperary. The eldest of three boys, he took his first computer course when he was eight years old, at the University of Limerick, and began learning computer programming at the age of ten.

Collison was educated at Gaelscoil Aonach Urmhumhan, Nenagh, before attending Castletroy College in Castletroy, County Limerick.

From Wikipedia’s article on Patrick Collison (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: programmer.8 9

  • Date not recordedFounded Arc Research Institute4
  • Date not recordedFounded Omacom Foundation5
  • Date not recordedFounded Stripe6
  • Date not recordedChief executive, Stripe7

Young Scientist

Collison entered the 40th Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition with his project on artificial intelligence (nicknamed 'Isaac' after Isaac Newton, whom Patrick admired), finishing as individual runner-up. He re-entered the following year and, at the age of sixteen, won first place on 14 January 2005. His project involved the creation of Croma, a LISP-type programming language.

His prize of a €7,500 cheque and a trophy of Waterford Crystal was presented to him by President Mary McAleese. His younger brother Tommy participated with his project on blogging in the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition in 2010.

Auctomatic

He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but eventually dropped out in 2009 after starting businesses. In 2007, he set up software company 'Shuppa' (a play on the Irish word siopa, meaning 'shop') in Limerick with his brother John Collison. Enterprise Ireland did not allocate funding to the company, prompting a move to California after Silicon Valley's Y Combinator showed interest, where they merged with two Oxford graduates, Harjeet and Kulveer Taggar, and the company became Auctomatic.

On Good Friday of March 2008, Collison, aged nineteen, and his brother, aged seventeen, sold Auctomatic to Canadian company Live Current Media, becoming millionaires. In May 2008, he became director of engineering at the company's new Vancouver base. Collison attributes the success of his company to his win in the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Both Collison and his younger brother John were featured on a young Irish persons rich list aired on an RTÉ television show during the 2008 Christmas period.

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Stripe

In 2010, Collison co-founded Stripe, which in 2011 received investment of $2 million including from PayPal co-founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.

In November 2016, the Collison brothers became the world's youngest self-made billionaires, worth at least $1.1 billion, after an investment in Stripe from CapitalG and General Catalyst Partners valued the company at $9.2 billion. By 2017, the brothers were notionally worth at least $3.2 billion each.

In 2018, Stripe, under the direction of the Collison brothers, contributed $1 million to California YIMBY, a pro-housing development lobbying organisation.

In September 2019, it was announced that Stripe had raised an additional $250 million at a valuation of $35 billion. Together, the brothers hold a controlling interest in Stripe.

Collison joined the board of Meta Platforms in April 2025.

From Wikipedia’s article on Patrick Collison (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornSep 9, 1988, Limerick10
  • CitizenshipIreland11
  • ResidenceSan Francisco12
  • SpouseSilvana Konermann married 202213 14

In April 2022, Collison married Swiss-American biochemist and Stanford University professor Silvana Konermann, with whom he co-founded the Arc Institute. Collison met Konermann during the 2004 EU Young Scientist competition.

Collison lives in San Francisco, California. He donated $7 million to a group opposing Proposition 40, a proposed one-off wealth tax on California's billionaires.

In November 2024, Collison was criticized for visiting Israel and posting an image with the Israeli flag amidst the Gaza war.

From Wikipedia’s article on Patrick Collison (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the news

3 recent articles from 3 outlets we read name Patrick Collison. We match the full name, and check the article also names one of their companies or that they are well known.

Sources

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