What is the Winklevoss twins net worth, how much did they sue Mark Zuckerberg for and are they sponsoring The Boat Race?
THE Winklevoss twins are two of the most prominent players in the world of cryptocurrency – becoming billionaires in the process.
They won big on their bitcoin gamble and are now two of the richest men in the world due to other successful investments and business ventures.
The Winklevoss twins are American billionaire investors and former Olympic rowers
That includes creating their own crypto exchange, Gemini, and venture capital firm Winklevoss Capital.
But they have also hit the headlines after SUING Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg as well as their history as elite athletes – which includes competing in The Boat Race and the Olympics.
Here’s everything you need to know about the billionaire brothers.
Who are the Winklevoss twins?
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are twin American billionaire investors and entrepreneurs.
The 42-year-old brothers were born in New York on August 21, 1981, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut.
They studied at the prestigious Harvard University between 2000 and 2004, graduating with BA degrees in economics.
While at uni, Tyler and Cameron met Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was also studying at Harvard.
They went on to sue him after claiming he stole their idea after being contracted to help develop their site ConnectU.
When did the Winklevoss twins sue Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg?
The Winklevoss twins famously sued Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, claiming he stole their idea for the social networking site.
Their story was told in the 2010 film The Social Network starring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Arnie Hammer, who played both brothers.
Although their bid for control of the company was unsuccessful, they were awarded a settlement of £48million ($65m) in 2008.
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What are the bitcoin billionaires’ net worth?
Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have an estimated combined net worth of $5.4billion (£4.25bn), according to Forbes.
They made their initial fortune from the Facebook settlement and by being earlier investors and proponents in bitcoin.
The twins took $11million (£8.19million) out of the cash settlement they were awarded following their legal battle with Facebook and used it to buy up the cryptocurrency in 2013.
At the time, a single bitcoin was worth $120 (£90) – but one BTC is worth over £50,000 at the time of writing.
They still hold an estimated 70,000 BTC, totalling around £3.5bn at its current value.
The Winklevoss twins later created cryptocurrency exchange Gemini in 2014 – it now processes around £60 million of trades every day and has over 10 million global users.
Gemini is one of their business interests that does not come under the Winklevoss Capital umbrella.
The venture capital firm invests in early-stage startups in fintech and gaming.
Why do the Winklevoss twins sponsor The Boat Race?
Tyler and Cameron both stand at an imposing 6ft 5ins have a long history of rowing – even rowing in The Boat Race in 2010.
The Winklevoss twins rowed for Oxford during the 156th Boat Race in 2010 – and now sponsor the event
The brothers also finished sixth for the US at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
They took up the sport aged 15 in 1997 and by 1999 had made the US junior national team.
The pair continued rowing while at Havard and won numerous collegiate races, as well as taking part in both national and international races.
They were part of the US national team at the 2007 Pan American games – where they both won a gold medal in the men’s eight and silver medals in the men’s coxless four.
A year later, they were part of the US team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reaching the final and finishing sixth out of 14 countries that had qualified for the Olympics.
They also won a bronze medal at the Rowing World Cup in 2009.
Later that year, the pair studied for a Masters at Oxford University and was an Oxford Blue, racing in 2010 – however, the 156th Boat Race was a losing effort for Oxford with Cambridge winning on the day.
Gemini has had naming rights for the classic race between Oxford and Cambridge since 2021.
The three-year deal was the first of its kind for The Boat Race and was agreed for an undisclosed amount.
It is not yet clear if they will continue to sponsor the event after the deal expires in April.
