Quick Info
| Profession | Entrepreneur, Netflix Co-founder and Chairman |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Date of Birth | 08/10/1960 |
| Age | 65 years |
| Birthplace | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Full Name | Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. |
| Net Worth | $5.8 billion |
Latest News about Reed Hastings
01/2026
Reed Hastings stepped down as chairman of Netflix in January 2026, ending his formal board leadership role at the company he co-founded. He had previously transitioned from CEO to co-CEO and then executive chairman, and the move marked the close of nearly three decades of leadership tied to Netflix.
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Bio/Wiki
| Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist best known as the co-founder of Netflix. | |
| He conceived the idea for Netflix after incurring a $40 late fee for returning the movie Apollo 13 from Blockbuster. | |
| Before founding Netflix, he founded Pure Software in 1991, which was acquired in 1997. | |
| He is a strong advocate for charter schools and served as the president of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. |
Physical Stats & More
| Height: 5'9" (175 cm) | |
| Weight: 167 lbs (76 kg) | |
| Hair Color: Grey | |
| Eye Color: Blue | |
| Zodiac Sign: Libra | |
| Religion: Christianity | |
| Ethnicity: White | |
| Current Residence: Santa Cruz, California |
Personal Life
| Reed Hastings lives in Santa Cruz, California. | |
| He is an active educational philanthropist supporting charter school reform. |
Relationships & More
| Spouse | Patricia Ann Quillin (m. 1991) |
|---|---|
| Children | 2 |
Family
| Father: Wilmot Reed Hastings | |
| Mother: Joan Amory Loomis | |
| Children: 2 (names not publicly disclosed) |
Career
| Early Career | Peace Corps mathematics teacher; software engineer at Adaptive Technology; Founder of Pure Software (1991) |
|---|---|
| Companies Founded | Pure Software (1991, IPO 1995, acquired 1997); Netflix (co-founded 1997 with Marc Randolph) |
| Netflix Roles | CEO (1998-2020); Co-CEO (2020-2023); Executive Chairman (2023-2026); Chairman of the board |
| Board Memberships | California State Board of Education (2000-2004); Bloomberg; Anthropic; KIPP; Pahara; The City Fund; Microsoft; Facebook |
| Other | Active educational philanthropist; Advocate for charter schools |
Social Media
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedhastings/ |
Some Lesser Known Facts
| 1. Conceived Netflix idea after incurring a large video rental late fee. | |
| 2. Took a gap year selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door before college graduation. | |
| 3. Background in mathematics and computer science. | |
| 4. Forbes estimates his net worth at approximately $5.8 billion. | |
| 5. He decided to establish Netflix after being fined $40 at a Blockbuster shop for being late returning a copy of Apollo 13. |