Bill Harris: PayPal's first CEO is worth $100 million and spends about $70,000 a year
He ran Intuit, was the founding CEO of PayPal next to Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and sold Personal Capital for about $825 million. Then he sold his houses, cars, plane and 31 pets and moved into a cottage he bikes to work from. Here is his story, the numbers, and what you can copy.
Overview
Bill Harris says his financial life has had four phases. First, his family paid his way through graduate school. Then a decade or more single and broke in a New York City studio apartment. Then 25 years of building and buying. Now, getting rid of things.
At 40 he ran Intuit, with 5,000 employees. That taught him the hardest lesson of his career: "It's easy to know what you're good at. It's really hard to know what you're not good at." His answer: he is a starter, not a manager.
He was the founding CEO of PayPal, building it above a bakery near Stanford with Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, David Sacks and Reid Hoffman. "There wasn't a single one of us whose ego would fit in a large gymnasium. We were close to fisticuffs most days." When eBay bought it, he made "more than 20 million, less than 50."
In 2009 he founded Personal Capital, grew it to $23 billion in assets, and sold it for about $825 million. His share was over $100 million after tax. He has started about 11 companies.
How it really happened
- The start. He studied at Middlebury, got an MBA from Harvard, and started in media, in senior roles at U.S. News & World Report and Time Inc.
- The tax software. He then joined ChipSoft, a small company making tax preparation software. Its product became TurboTax, and the company became part of Intuit, where he rose to CEO.
- The PayPal room. "Between Elon, Peter, Max Levchin, myself, David Sacks, Reid Hoffman, there wasn't a single one of us whose ego would fit in a large gymnasium." It lasted about a year. The minute eBay bought it, everyone was gone.
- Personal Capital. He started it in 2009, at about the same time as Wealthfront and Betterment, but aimed it at wealthier clients with more sophisticated portfolios. It reached $23 billion in assets and sold to Empower. He stepped down as CEO and stayed on as board chair.
- The pets. At his peak: three dogs, three to five cats, a rooster, six or seven chickens, a pony, two finches, two cockatiels, an iguana, and two mountain goats. The goats were "a real mistake," because unlike regular goats they would not stay in the pasture and kept running all over town.
- Miami. In 2021 he moved to Miami to start a new company. Today he lives in a small paid-off cottage, has no car, and takes his "little bike" to work early so he misses the heat.
Timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| Young | His family pays his way through graduate school |
| Next decade | Single and broke in a New York City studio |
| Age 40 | CEO of Intuit, 5,000 employees |
| Around 2000 | Founding CEO of PayPal for about a year, built above a bakery near Stanford |
| Later | eBay buys PayPal. His take: between $20 million and $50 million |
| 2009 | Founds Personal Capital |
| Later | Personal Capital reaches $23 billion in assets and sells for about $825 million. His share: over $100 million after tax |
| Since | Sells his houses, cars, plane and pets. Moves to a cottage near Miami Beach |
| Today | 70 years old, worth about $100 million, funding his new company with $10 million of his own money |
The numbers
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Net worth | About $100 million |
| Spending per year | $70,000 to $80,000, all in |
| PayPal payout | More than $20 million, less than $50 million |
| Personal Capital sale | About $825 million, after raising about $290 million |
| His Personal Capital take | Over $100 million after tax |
| Personal Capital assets | $23 billion |
| Companies started | About 11 |
| Pets at his peak | 31, including two mountain goats and an iguana |
| Own money in his new company | About $10 million, no outside investors |
| Age | 70 |
How it makes money
Bill made his money by starting and selling companies in finance software: Intuit (as CEO), PayPal, Personal Capital and others. Today about half of his net worth is in private companies he is building, and the other half is "deliberately boring": roughly half stocks, half bonds.
What they did right
1. He learned what he is bad at
"It's really hard to know what you're not good at, and it's more important to figure that out." He starts companies, hires a COO, and moves to chairman.
2. He is honest about luck
"In business, I gotta say it's 80, 90% luck... I happened to be in Silicon Valley, happened to meet some people." He adds: "It helps if you work hard."
3. He works for mastery, not money
"When I feel like, I know how to do this... I get a sense of mastery, and it really powers me."
4. He gave away his things to get back his time
"Things are time... I've got enough money. I don't have enough time."
Do what they did: step by step
1. Find out what you are not good at.
Do this: ask two people who have worked with you what you are bad at. Write it down without arguing.
2. Put yourself where the action is.
He credits being in Silicon Valley and meeting the right people.
Do this: name the one room, group or event where the people in your field meet. Go this month.
3. Save a piece and forget it.
"Put something away in a way that it'll grow, and then forget it."
Do this: set up an automatic monthly transfer into an investment account you do not touch.
4. Count the time your things cost you.
Do this: tonight, list how much time today went into managing things you own. Get rid of one.
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Sources
- Financial Planning, "Personal Capital gets new leadership as founder steps down"
- eMerge Americas speaker profile, Bill Harris
- Thirty Minute Mentors with Adam Mendler, Episode 255
- Hampton, Moneywise with Daniel Berk, "He Ran PayPal With Elon. Now He Has $100M and Spends Nothing" (interview and full transcript)
