Dubbed the ‘mayor of the Internet’ by Forbes, Alexis Ohanian has been the creative mind and entrepreneurial spirit behind a number of the world’s most popular websites.
The digital entrepreneur, who recently expressed his love and support for his wife Serena Williams through a number of giant billboards, has been a major force in the technology world for years and has not backed down when it comes to making his views on Internet openness and accessibility known.
But just who is Alexis Ohanian? What is his relationship with Serena Williams? Here’s all you need to know about who Alexis Ohanian is, his history with the popular website Reddit, his net worth and how he’s made his money over the years.
Alexis Ohanian has been married to tennis star Serena Williams since November 2017
Who is Alexis Ohanian?
Alexis Ohanian is a technology entrepreneur and investor best-known as the cofounder of Reddit and husband of tennis star Serena Williams.
Ohanian was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 24, 1983.
He grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland and later graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005.
Shortly after graduating college, Ohanian cofounded the Internet news website Reddit with Steve Huffman and later launched Breadpig in 2007 and Hipmunk in 2010. He also cofounded Initialized Capital in 2011, helping to launch a number of Internet startups with its seed money.
Ohanian wed Serena Williams in late 2017 and has one child with her. He’s also been very active in promoting the openness of the Internet, rallying activists to oppose legislation like the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States in 2010 and 2011.
Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams
Ohanian and Serena Williams reportedly began dating in 2015 and subsequently got engaged on December 10, 2016. The couple married on November 16, 2017 in New Orleans.
They have one son, Alexis Olympica Ohanian, Jr., born on September 1, 2017.
Alexis Ohanian and Reddit
Ohanian and Reddit cofounder Steve Huffman made their first pitch, an early app called MyMobileMenu, to seed accelerator company Y Combinator shortly after graduating from college in 2005. Although Y Combinator ultimately rejected the idea, they were impressed by their creativity and drive and encouraged them to come up with a more financially feasible idea.
Ohanian and Huffman returned to the drawing board and started Reddit in June 2005, a discussion and social news website that aimed to ultimately become the ‘front page of the Internet’.
The website immediately became a success and was acquired by Conde Nast Publications in October 2006. Ohanian and Huffman later returned to the company full-time in July 2015.
According to Alexa, the website boasts roughly 542 million users as of 2017 and is ranked as the fourth-most visited website in the United States and the sixth-most visited in the world.
What is Alexis Ohanian’s net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ohanian is valued at roughly $9 million (£6.5 million).
His wife, Serena Williams, is valued at approximately $180 million (£130 million).
How does Alexis Ohanian make his money?
Ohanian draws his fortune from his from career in technology entrepreneurship, founding a number of websites and firms such as Hipmunk, Breadpig and, most notably, online news website Reddit.
He also cofounded the venture capital company Initialized Capital