Instagram Co-Founders Cash In $500 Million From Facebook Deal

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What's better than 1 million dollars? A billion dollars. (photo via The New York Times)
What's better than 1 million dollars? A billion dollars. (photo via The New York Times)

In what is being called the largest mobile app acquisition in history, Facebook’s $1 billion buyout of Instagram is landing the iPhone app’s founders in a boatload of cash. Instagram’s two co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, will cash in $500 million combined as a result of getting in bed with the social network behemoth. Quite the pay day for an app that’s been in the App Store for barley two years.

Wired reports:

CEO Systrom owns 40 percent of Instagram, according to a source close to the company, who provided Wired with figures from 2011. That will net Systrom $400 million to take home as a result of the deal. Co-founder Mike Krieger holds about a 10 percent stake, and will net around $100 million. Benchmark Capital, the venture capital firm which led Instagram’s Series A funding round in 2011, has about an 18 percent stake, netting roughly $180 million from the deal. Andreessen Horowitz and Baseline Ventures, two investment firms backing Instagram, each have about a 10 percent stake, netting just under $100 million apiece.

Instagram has 13 full-time employees who will each receive part of a $100 million pool. Employees with seniority will be awarded more cash than new hires.

With 30 million users and a hot new Android app, Instagram is the creme de le creme of social photography apps. Here’s to hoping it stays that way.

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