NAVAL RAVIKANT
Co-founder of AngelList, prolific angel investor, and the internet's most-quoted philosopher of wealth
Naval Ravikant came to the US from India at age 9, grew up poor in New York, put himself through Dartmouth, built two companies, co-founded AngelList — which democratized startup investing — and became arguably the most quotable person in Silicon Valley without running a major fund or writing a book. His tweetstorms on wealth, happiness, and leverage have been read by more people than most bestselling finance books. He made this look effortless. It was not.
Net Worth
$100M+
Nationality
Indian-American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
8 / 10
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Naval Ravikant was born in New Delhi, moved to New York at age 9. He put himself through Dartmouth on scholarships and loans.
He co-founded Epinions in 1999 — a consumer review site that later became part of Shopping.com. Epinions had a messy founding story that resulted in lawsuits and fractured relationships with early team members.
He then co-founded Vast.com, an online marketplace. In 2010, he co-founded AngelList — a platform that democratized startup investing by allowing accredited investors to co-invest alongside top angels.
AngelList revolutionized the seed stage funding ecosystem. Through AngelList and personal angel investments, Naval has backed over 200 companies including Twitter, Uber, FourSquare, Yammer, and many others.
Several of these became multi-billion dollar companies.
COMPANIES & ROLES
AngelList (co-founder, 2010). Epinions (co-founder, 1999 — led to Shopping.com).
Vast.com (co-founder). Angel investments in: Twitter, Uber, FourSquare, Yammer, Poshmark, and 200+ others.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (compiled by Eric Jorgenson from his public content).
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Naval is an early-stage angel investor who backs founders he believes are building something real in large markets. He does not run a traditional fund.
He invests personally and through AngelList's syndicate model. His edge is pattern recognition built from hundreds of investments and deep engagement with the startup ecosystem.
He has said the best investments are in people, not companies — he bets on the founder's unique insight and personal character. He is known for saying yes or no quickly and not wasting founders' time.
THE PLAYBOOK
Money Habits
Naval meditates daily. He has spoken extensively about his morning routine prioritizing mental clarity before business.
He does not schedule many calls. He reads constantly — physics, philosophy, mathematics — not just business books.
He has said he stopped tracking metrics of his personal investments obsessively because it created anxiety without changing his decisions. He does not hustle culture — he works deeply on fewer things.
BIGGEST WIN
His early Twitter investment. He invested at the seed stage, when Twitter was a chaotic early-stage startup with no clear business model.
It eventually went public at a $14 billion valuation and was acquired by Elon Musk for $44 billion. His Uber investment is another frequently cited win — he was in very early before it became the most valuable private company in history.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
The Epinions lawsuit. After Epinions was sold and merged into Shopping.com, a group of early employees sued over equity that they felt was improperly restructured.
The legal battle was bruising and public, and Naval has spoken about the experience as one of the hardest of his professional life. He has said it taught him more about founder ethics and equity structure than anything else.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
His wealth philosophy has been distilled into what people call "How to Get Rich" — a tweetstorm and podcast that has been read or heard by millions. The core thesis: specific knowledge (what you know that cannot be taught), leverage (code, media, capital that works while you sleep), and judgment.
He argues that wealth is built by owning equity in things, not selling your time. He is deeply skeptical of trading time for money as a long-term strategy.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Born New Delhi, India, 1974. Moved to New York at age 9 with his mother after his parents separated.
Has children. Keeps family details private.
Married twice. Has been open about his meditation practice and personal growth journey in public.
EDUCATION
Dartmouth College — Bachelor of Science in computer science and economics, 1995.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
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QUOTES (6)
Specific knowledge is knowledge you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else and replace you.
Reading is the most important habit I have. Every book I read, I learn something that makes me better at everything else.
Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.
NETFIGO SCORE
Proprietary 5-dimension investor rating
Risk Appetite
Contrarian Index
Track Record
Accessibility
Time Horizon
Related Profiles
Investors
Balaji Srinivasan
Balaji is one of Naval's closest intellectual collaborators — both are Indian-American tech founders who think deeply about the future of the nation-state, crypto, and decentralization
Chamath Palihapitiya
Both are prominent immigrant tech investors who became vocal critics of the traditional venture capital model and built their own frameworks for thinking about wealth and investment
Sam Altman
Naval and Altman are the two most influential architects of the startup investing ecosystem — Naval through AngelList's syndicate model, Altman through Y Combinator's batch model
Companies