How Reid Hoffman went from studying philosophy at Oxford to building LinkedIn

Sarah JacksonAug 20, 2024, 16:14 IST

"PayPal Mafia" member Reid Hoffman is the founder of LinkedIn.Steve Jennings/Getty Images<ul class="summary-list"><li>Reid Hoffman is the billionaire cofounder of LinkedIn and <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflection-ai-new-game-plan-mustafa-suleyman-joined-microsoft-2024-5">Inflection AI</a>.</li><li>He was one of Facebook's early investors and has also led investments in firms like Airbnb.</li></ul>While he's perhaps best known as the founder of <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-avoid-when-posting-new-job-linkedin-hr-expert-2024-7">LinkedIn</a>, Reid Hoffman has played an influential role in other Silicon Valley giants.He joined PayPal in its early days and was one of <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/linkedin-reid-hoffman-how-mark-zuckerberg-evolved-2017-11">Facebook's first investors</a>, for example. He went on to lead investments in firms like Airbnb and today is the cofounder of AI company Inflection AI.Here's a look at Hoffman's life and career rise over the years:

Hoffman was born in Palo Alto, California, in 1957 and grew up in Berkeley

Reid Hoffman grew up in Palo Alto.Courtesy of Reid Hoffman

Hoffman's babysitter introduced him to Dungeons & Dragons when he was 10, kicking off a new love of strategy and role-playing games

Hoffman says the strategy he learned from early D&D games helped him in his career later.Getty Images

He went to the progressive boarding school Putney, in Vermont, where he learned blacksmithing, woodworking, and farming techniques in addition to his academic studies

Reid Hoffman attended the Putney School for high school.Courtesy of Reid Hoffman

He studied at Stanford University, where he'd meet future fellow billionaire investor and PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel

Hoffman and Thiel met at Stanford.Getty Images

Hoffman graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in Symbolic Systems

Reid Hoffman earned his bachelor's degree from Stanford.Courtesy of Reid Hoffman

He wanted to be a 'public intellectual' and went to Oxford as a Marshall Scholar to get his master's in philosophy

Reid Hoffman received his master's in philosophy from Oxford in 1993.Courtesy of Reid Hoffman

After short stints at both Apple and Fujitsu, Hoffman decided to start his own tech company in 1997, a site called SocialNet

SocialNet was an early social network for meeting dates or friends.Kevin Moloney/Fortune Brainstorm Tech

In December of 1998, Thiel told Hoffman he should join him at his pioneering online payments company, PayPal

Members of the PayPal Mafia include Thiel, Hoffman, and Musk.AP

Hoffman used his PayPal money to revisit the notion of social networks

LinkedIn made $1.7 billion from its premium subscribers in 2023Smith Collection/Gado

In 2004, a 20-year-old college dropout named Mark Zuckerberg approached Hoffman to see if he had an interest in either his social startup The Facebook, or his file transfer service Wirehog

Hoffman was one of Facebook's early investors.Rick Friedman

In 2004, a 20-year-old college dropout named Mark Zuckerberg approached Hoffman to see if he had an interest in either his social startup The Facebook, or his file transfer service Wirehog

Hoffman gave the CEO role to Dan Nye, but replaced him with former Yahoo exec Jeff Weiner a year later. Weiner has remained in the role since

Jeff Weiner guided LinkedIn through its IPO.Reuters

Hoffman and Weiner decided it'd be best for LinkedIn to join a larger company and announced a $26.2 billion acquisition by Microsoft that June

Microsoft bought LinkedIn in 2016.Microsoft

Hoffman became one of the Valley's most sought-after and well-connected investors

Hoffman has led investments in startups like Airbnb.Eugene Gologursky/Getty

In 2022, Hoffman cofounded Inflection AI with Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI

Mustafa Suleyman and Hoffman cofounded Inflection AI in 2022.PATRICK T. FALLON

Hoffman is embracing more than ever his teenage desire to be a 'public intellectual'

Hoffman has become vocal about politics as well.Kimberly White/Getty Images

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How Reid Hoffman went from studying philosophy at Oxford to building LinkedIn

Hoffman was born in Palo Alto, California, in 1957 and grew up in Berkeley

Hoffman's babysitter introduced him to Dungeons & Dragons when he was 10, kicking off a new love of strategy and role-playing games

He went to the progressive boarding school Putney, in Vermont, where he learned blacksmithing, woodworking, and farming techniques in addition to his academic studies

He studied at Stanford University, where he'd meet future fellow billionaire investor and PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel

Hoffman graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in Symbolic Systems

He wanted to be a 'public intellectual' and went to Oxford as a Marshall Scholar to get his master's in philosophy

After short stints at both Apple and Fujitsu, Hoffman decided to start his own tech company in 1997, a site called SocialNet

In December of 1998, Thiel told Hoffman he should join him at his pioneering online payments company, PayPal

Hoffman used his PayPal money to revisit the notion of social networks

In 2004, a 20-year-old college dropout named Mark Zuckerberg approached Hoffman to see if he had an interest in either his social startup The Facebook, or his file transfer service Wirehog

Hoffman gave the CEO role to Dan Nye, but replaced him with former Yahoo exec Jeff Weiner a year later. Weiner has remained in the role since

Hoffman and Weiner decided it'd be best for LinkedIn to join a larger company and announced a $26.2 billion acquisition by Microsoft that June

Hoffman became one of the Valley's most sought-after and well-connected investors

In 2022, Hoffman cofounded Inflection AI with Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI

Hoffman is embracing more than ever his teenage desire to be a 'public intellectual'