Jack Dorsey onstage at a bitcoin convention on June 4, 2021 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Jack Dorsey cofounded Twitter in 2006 and the company made him a billionaire.
He’s famous for his unusual life of luxury, including a daily fasting routine and regular ice baths.
He stepped down as Twitter CEO in November 2021 but continues to lead Block as its “Block Head.”
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From fighting armies of bots to quashing rumors about sending his beard hair to rapper Azealia Banks, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey leads an unusual life of luxury.
Dorsey has had a turbulent career in Silicon Valley. After cofounding Twitter on March 21 2006, he was booted as the company’s CEO two years later, but returned in 2015 having set up his second company, Square — which he rebranded as Block in 2021.
He led Twitter through the techlash that has engulfed social media companies, testifying before Congress multiple times.
And Dorsey announced on November 29, 2021, he had stepped down as the CEO of Twitter. He continues to lead Block, where in April 2022 he changed his title from “CEO” to “Block Head.” In May 2022, Dorsey officially stepped down from Twitter’s board of directors amid Elon Musk’s bid for the company, which became final in October 2022.
Shortly after the takeover, Musk called for mass layoffs at Twitter, impacting thousands of employees and an estimated 50% of the company’s workforce. Dorsey subsequently apologized to “folks at Twitter past and present” in a tweet, claiming responsibility for the terminations because he “grew the company size too quickly.”
Dorsey has provoked his fair share of controversy and criticism, extolling fasting and ice baths as part of his daily routine. His existence is not entirely spartan, however. Like some other billionaires, he owns a stunning house, dates models, and drives fast cars.
Scroll on to read more about the fabulous life of Jack Dorsey.
Rebecca Borison and Madeline Stone contributed reporting to an earlier version of this story.
Vine
At age 15, Dorsey wrote dispatch software that is still used by some taxi companies.
Source: Bio.
@jack
These days Dorsey doesn’t favour the spiky hairdo.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
edyson / Flickr
He briefly attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology and transferred to New York University before calling it quits.
Source: Bio.
joi / Flickr
Nobody else really seemed interested, so he put away the idea for a bit.
Source: The Unofficial Stanford Blog
Getty Images/Bill Pugliano
He got his license in about 2002, before exploding onto the tech scene.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal
Flickr via Scott Beale/LaughingSquid
Odeo went out of business in 2006, so Dorsey returned to his messaging idea, and Twitter was born.
Twitter/@jack
Dorsey kept his Twitter handle simple, “@jack.”
Khalid Mohammed / AP Images
Dorsey took out his nose ring to look the part of a CEO. He was 30 years old.
Wikimedia Commons
By 2008, Williams had taken over as CEO, and Dorsey transitioned to chairman of Twitter’s board. Dorsey immediately got started on new projects. He invested in Foursquare and launched a payments startup called Square that lets small-business owners accept credit card payments through a smartphone attachment.
Reuters
Dorsey had to remind Obama to keep his replies under 140 characters, Twitter’s limit at the time.
Source: Twitter
AP
In 2014 Forbes pegged Dorsey’s net worth at $2.2 billion. On the day it was reported he was expected to resign, Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index calculated his net worth at $12.3 billion.
David Becker / Getty
The $1.40 salary actually represented a pay rise for Dorsey, who in previous years had refused any payment at all.
He’s far from the only Silicon Valley mogul to have taken a measly salary – Mark Zuckerberg makes $1 a year as CEO of Facebook.
Source: Insider
Reuters
This helped Square employees, giving them more equity and stock options. It was also helpful in acquiring online food-delivery startup Caviar.
Alex Davies / Business Insider
“Now he’s able to say, like, ‘The BMW is the only car I drive, because it’s the best automotive engineering on the planet,’ or whatever,” Twitter cofounder Biz Stone told The New Yorker in 2013.
Source: The New Yorker
The Real Estalker via Sotheby’s
The house has a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, which Dorsey views as a marvel of design.
Source: Insider
Twitter/@jack
In an interview with journalist Kara Swisher conducted over Twitter, Dorsey said he worked every Tuesday out of his kitchen.
PewDiePie/YouTube
Dorsey said Musk’s tweets are, “focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking openly.”
He added that he enjoys all the “ups and downs” that come with Musk’s sometimes unpredictable use of the site. Musk himself replied, tweeting his thanks and “Twitter rocks!” followed by a string of random emojis.
Both Musk and Dorsey are crypto enthusiasts, and appear to have developed a good public relationship.
Source: Insider
Gene Kim
Dorsey told Rolling Stone about the meal, which took place in 2011. Dorsey said the goat was served cold, and that he personally stuck to salad.
Source: Rolling Stone
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIRED25
Appearing on a podcast run by a health guru who previously said that vaccines caused autism, Dorsey said he eats one meal a day and fasts all weekend. He said the first time he tried fasting it made him feel like he was hallucinating.
“It was a weird state to be in. But as I did it the next two times, it just became so apparent to me how much of our days are centered around meals and how — the experience I had was when I was fasting for much longer, how time really slowed down,” he said.
The comments drew fierce criticism from many who said Dorsey was normalizing eating disorders.
In a later interview with Wired, Dorsey said he eats seven meals a week, “just dinner.”
Sources: Insider, The New Statesman
Cindy Ord / Getty Images, Franck Michel
Dorsey would regularly don leather jackets and slim suits by Prada and Hermès, as well as Dior Homme reverse-collar dress shirts, a sort of stylish take on the popped collar.
More recently he favors edgier outfits, including the classic black turtleneck favored by Silicon Valley luminaries like Steve Jobs.
Sources: CBS News and The Wall Street Journal
Getty
Dorsey seems to care less about looking the part of a traditional executive these days.
Getty
In 2016, Banks posted on her now-deleted Twitter account that Dorsey sent her his hair, “in an envelope.” Dorsey later told the HuffPo that the beard-posting incident never happened.
Twitter/@JPN_PMO
On his travels, Dorsey meets heads of state, including Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
Source: Twitter
Shutterstock/Martin M303
Dorsey tweeted glowingly about a vacation he took to Myanmar for his birthday in December 2018. “If you’re willing to travel a bit, go to Myanmar,” he said.
This came at the height of the Rohingya crisis, and Dorsey was attacked for his blithe promotion of the country — especially since social media platforms were accused of having been complicit in fuelling hatred towards the Rohingya.
Source: Insider
Reuters
In a bizarre Huffington Post interview in 2019, Dorsey was asked whether Donald Trump — an avid tweeter — could be removed from the platform if he called on his followers to murder a journalist. Dorsey gave a vague answer which drew sharp criticism.
Following the interview’s publication, Dorsey said he doesn’t care about “looking bad.”
“I care about being open about how we’re thinking and about what we see,” he added.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Dorsey and Sandberg were asked about election interference on Twitter and Facebook as well as alleged anti-conservative bias in social media companies.
Source: Insider
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Dorsey was in the hot seat for several hours. His heart rate peaked at 109 beats per minute.
Source: Insider
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation/Handout via REUTERS
Dorsey appeared via videoconference at the Senate hearing on Section 230, a part of US law that protects internet companies from legal liability for user-generated content, as well as giving them broad authority to decide how to moderate their own platforms.
In prepared testimony ahead of the hearing, Dorsey said stripping back Section 230 would “collapse how we communicate on the Internet,” and suggested ways for tech companies to make their moderation processes more transparent.
Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
The accusations from Republican lawmakers focused on the way Twitter enforces its policies, particularly the way it has labelled tweets from President Trump compared to other world leaders.
Dorsey took the brunt of questions from lawmakers, even though he appeared alongside Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Source: Protocol
Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS
Some users referred to Dorsey’s facial hair as his “quarantine beard,” while others said it made him look like a wizard.
—rat king (@MikeIsaac) October 28, 2020—Taylor Hatmaker (@tayhatmaker) October 28, 2020
“Jack Dorsey’s beard is literally breaking Twitter’s own face detection,” posted cybersecurity blogging account @Swiftonsecurity.
—SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 28, 2020
Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
When the New York Post published a report about Hunter Biden on October 14 that threw up red flags about sourcing, Twitter blocked users from sharing URLs citing its “hacked materials” policy.
Dorsey subsequently apologized publicly, saying it was wrong of Twitter to block URLs.
—jack (@jack) October 16, 2020
During the Senate hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz accused Twitter of taking the “unilateral decision to censor” the Post.
Dorsey said the Post’s Twitter account would remain locked until it deleted its original tweet, but that updated policies meant it could tweet the same story again without getting blocked.
Source: Insider
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee via REUTERS/File Photo
Dorsey was summoned alongside Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Republicans who were displeased with how the platforms had dealt with then-President Donald Trump’s social media accounts.
Both CEOs defended their companies, saying they are politically neutral.
Shutterstock
Dorsey said in the “Tales of the Crypt” podcast that he started using ice baths and saunas in the evenings around 2016.
He will alternately sit in his barrel sauna for 15 minutes and then switch to an ice bath for three. He repeats this routine three times, before finishing it off with a one-minute ice bath.
He also likes to take an icy dip in the mornings to wake him up.
Source: CNBC
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit / YouTube / Getty
Page Six reported in September 2018 that the pair were spotted together at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons party during New York Fashion Week. Page Six also reported that Dorsey’s exes included actress Lily Cole and ballet dancer Sofiane Sylve.
Source: Page Six
Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images
In particular, Dorsey is a fan of Bitcoin, which he described in early 2019 as “resilient” and “principled.” He told the “Tales of the Crypt” podcast in March that year that he was maxing out the $10,000 weekly spending limit on Square’s Cash App buying up Bitcoin.
In October 2020 he slammed Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong for forbidding employee activism at the company, saying cryptocurrency is itself a form of activism.
—jack (@jack) September 30, 2020
Source: Insider, Insider and CNBC
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Dorsey announced the new venture in a tweet on July 15, 2021 and said its name was “TBD.” It wasn’t clear whether that was its actual name, or Dorsey hadn’t decided on a name yet.
—jack (@jack) July 15, 2021
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Dorsey appeared alongside Elon Musk and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood during a panel called “The B Word” on July 2021. He said he loves the bitcoin community because it’s “weird as hell.”
“It’s the only reason that I have a career — because I learned so much from people like who are building bitcoin today,” Dorsey said.
AP Photo/Francois Mori
Dorsey’s announcement followed a tour of Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. “Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3-6 months mid 2020,” he tweeted.
REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Both Bloomberg and CNBC reported in late February 2020 that major Twitter investor Elliott Management — led by Paul Singer — was seeking to replace Dorsey.
Reasons given included the fact that Dorsey split his time between two firms by acting as CEO to both Twitter and financial tech firm Square, as well as his planned move to Africa.
Source: Insider
REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
“Just want to say that I support @jack as Twitter CEO,” Musk tweeted, adding that Dorsey has a good heart, using the heart emoji.
Source: Insider
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Twitter announced on March 9, 2020 that it had reached a deal with Elliott Management which would leave Jack Dorsey in place as CEO.
The deal included a $1 billion investment from private equity firm Silver Lake, and partners from both Elliott Management and Silver Lake joined Twitter’s board.
Patrick Pichette, lead independent director of Twitter’s board, said he was “confident we are on the right path with Jack’s leadership,” but added that a new temporary committee would be formed to instruct the board’s evaluation of Twitter’s leadership.
Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images
Dorsey said he would pour $1 billion of his own Square equity into the fund, or roughly 28% of his total wealth at the time.
The fund, dubbed Start Small LLC, would first focus on helping in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
Dorsey said he would be making all transactions on behalf of the fund public in a spreadsheet.
The accounts of high-profile verified accounts belonging to Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian West, and others were hacked, with attackers tweeting out posts asking users to send payment in bitcoin to fraudulent cryptocurrency addresses.
As a solution, Twitter temporarily blocked all verified accounts — those with blue check marks on their profiles — but the damage was done.
Susan Walsh/AP; Getty Images
During a July 2020 interview with The New York Times, Musk said he had immediately called Dorsey after he learned about the hack.
“Within a few minutes of the post coming up, I immediately got texts from a bunch of people I know, then I immediately called Jack so probably within less than five minutes my account was locked,” said Musk.
Source: The New York Times
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
As the craze for Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) gathered momentum, Dorsey announced he was auctioning his first tweet for charity. It was bought for $2.9 million by Hakan Estavi, chief executive at at Bridge Oracle.
Dorsey said proceeds from the auction would go to Give Directly’s Africa response.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
CNBC was the first to report on Dorsey’s expected resignation, citing unnamed sources.
Twitter confirmed the story the same day, announcing Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal would take over as CEO with immediate effect.
Dorsey posted on his Twitter account saying: “Not sure anyone has heard but, I resigned from Twitter.”
In his tweet he included a screenshot of the email he sent to Twitter staff announcing his resignation.
—jack⚡️ (@jack) November 29, 2021
And in May 2022, his time on the board of directors officially came to an end, an anticipated move that coincides with the company’s stockholder’s meeting.
Block
“The name change creates room for further growth,” the company said in a statement.
“Block references the neighborhood blocks where we find our sellers, a blockchain, block parties full of music, obstacles to overcome, a section of code, building blocks, and of course, tungsten cubes,” it added.
The line about tungsten cubes was an apparent reference to a craze among crypto enthusiasts of paying as much as $3,500 for novelty tungsten cubes.
Block
The title change was made official in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20, 2022.
“There will be no changes in Mr. Dorsey’s roles and responsibilities,” the filing said.
Block’s website was also updated to list his new title as Block Head.
Musk tweeted in response to the news using fire emojis to signal his approval for Dorsey’s title.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2022
Musk officially added the title of “Technoking” to his role at Tesla in March 2021.
Marco Bello/AFP/Getty Images
Dorsey replied to a Twitter user lamenting Vine’s demise saying: “I know. Biggest regret,” accompanied by a sad face emoji.
Twitter acquired short-form video app Vine in 2012 but shut it down in 2016.
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In his 84-page report and subsequent testimony, Zatko made a number of allegations against the company, including claims it had “egregious deficiencies” around security protocol and that Dorsey experienced a “drastic loss of focus” in his last year as CEO of Twitter.
AP
Musk’s team accused Twitter of misleading investors and intentionally “miscounting” spam accounts, Insider reported.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue/Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In the texts, Dorsey explained why he left the company and said he previously pushed to get Musk involved with Twitter.
“A new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. That’s why I left,” Dorsey wrote to Musk, adding he thinks Twitter should be an “open-sourced protocol” and “cant have an advertising model.”
Dorsey also told Musk he had advocated for the Tesla CEO’s addition to the Twitter board a year earlier, but the request was denied, which he said he thought “was completely stupid and backwards.”
Bluesky Social
The blockchain-based company’s beta launch raked in 30,000 signups in two days. According to Bluesky’s website, the company is intended to support “a new foundation for social networking which gives creators independence from platforms, developers the freedom to build, and users a choice in their experience.”
Jack Dorsey/Twitter
“Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient,” he wrote on Twitter. “They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me.”
He continued: “I am grateful for, and love, everyone who has ever worked on Twitter. I don’t expect that to be mutual in this moment…or ever…and I understand.”
Source: Insider