Anthony Michael Fadell was born on 22 March 1969, in Detroit, Michigan US America, of Lebanese descent. Tony is an inventor, investor, entrepreneur and designer, best known for being one of the “fathers of the iPod”, being largely responsible for the iPod’s creation. He also founded Nest Labs which was later acquired by Google for $3.2 billion. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Tony Fadell? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $800 million, mostly earned through his numerous business creations and investments. He’s held high positions at top companies and is responsible for the creation of numerous products. As he continues his career, it is expected that his wealth will increase.
Tony Fadell Net Worth $800 million
After matriculating from Grosse Pointe South High School, Fadell attended the University of Michigan, and while studying there started the company Constructive Instruments which focused on the product MediaText. After graduating, he would go on and work for General Magic for three years, before heading to other electronics companies while also building his own creations. He worked as a diagnostics engineer at first, but eventually became a systems architect. During his time with these companies he would create several devices and technologies. Some of these companies he worked for include Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba, and Motorola, all the time building his net worth.
In 1995, he was hired by Philips, becoming the Chief Technology Officer of their Mobile Computing Group. He would work on several projects such as Philips Velo and Nino PDA, which were based on the Windows System. During his years there he would serve as Director of Engineering, and eventually Vice President of Philips Strategy and Ventures. Four years after starting at Philips, he created the company Fuse which had trouble developing a disk- based music player. He tried developing the product with other companies but was still unsuccessful.
In 2001 he was then hired by Apple, and started working on audio projects that would eventually become the iPod. He already had the concept for the device and an initial design, becoming the overseer of the creation of the gadget. He was also responsible for developing the iSight device. Three years later, he became the vice-president of iPod engineering and was then promoted to the Senior Vice President two years later. Eventually, he would leave Apple, a story that was covered by The Wall Street Journal.
His next idea would come when he was having a hard time using a thermostat at his home. Along with Matt Rogers, they tried to design a thermostat which led to the creation of Nest Labs and their WiFi-enabled, programmable thermostat. He would continue to work for the company over the next six years, but then resigned in 2016 after failing to get a profit from several projects.
Over his 20 years in the electronics industry, Fadell has worked on over 300 patents. He was given numerous awards for his work, including the Alva Award for “The Next Great Serial Inventor”, Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and CNN’s “10:Thinkers”.
For his personal life, it is known that Tony is very vocal when it comes to work and has had his share of altercations with various staff members and employees. He also mentions that he is a Greek Orthodox Christian. There is no public information on his private life.
