See how different Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other tech CEOs looked when they first started their companies

Fri, 08/09/2024 - 10:04

side-by-side of Elon Musk in PayPal's early days in 1999 and then in 2024 — Elon Musk today runs several more companies than he did in 1999, when the photo on the left was taken.
AP / Richard Bord/WireImage via Getty Images

Some of Silicon Valley's biggest names are in their tech bro era.
It wasn't always like this — many Big Tech CEOs have shed more nerdy personas from their startup days.
Here's a look at tech's most influential executives then and now.

Mark Zuckerberg isn't the only tech CEO whose style has noticeably evolved over the years.

Other Big Tech leaders have significantly changed up their looks since starting their companies; some are nearly unrecognizable (we're looking at you, Jeff Bezos.)

Here's a look at the style transformations of some of tech's biggest names:

Jeff Bezos

Bezos founded Amazon from his garage in Bellevue, Washington, in 1994. He attributes his new look partly to working out with a celebrity personal trainer and changing his diet.

Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook from his dorm room at Harvard in 2004.

Gone are the days of the Zuck who famously wore the same thing every day to save brainpower for more important decisions. Instead, Zuck can now be seen sporting graphic tees and chain necklaces.

Part of Zuckerberg's physical transformation also stems from hobbies like Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA fighting.

Michael Dell

Dell is another member of the college dropouts-turned-tech founders club.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998.

Elon Musk

The photo at left shows Musk in 1999, around the time the "PayPal mafia" was formed.

Musk has said he doesn't care for exercise and "almost never" works out, though he's credited fasting and the weight loss drug Wegovy with his appearance today.

Bill Gates

Gates and the late Paul Allen cofounded Microsoft from a garage in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975.

Jack Dorsey

Twitter was founded in 2006. Cofounder Dorsey has been seen with a full beard pretty regularly since departing as CEO and focusing his efforts more on cryptocurrency at Block, formerly Square.

Richard Branson

Richard Branson started the Virgin brand in 1970 with a mail order record business.

At 73 years old today, Branson's day-to-day life still features plenty of exercise, from tennis and cycling to kite-surfing.

Jack Ma

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma disappeared from public view in 2020 after criticizing China's financial regulation system. He resurfaced in Thailand in 2022 and has been teaching as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo.

Anne Wojcicki

Anne Wojcicki founded genetic testing company 23andMe in 2006.

Whitney Wolfe Herd

Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014 and stepped down as CEO last year.

Evan Spiegel

Evan Spiegel co-founded Snap, which owns services like Snapchat, in 2011.

Reed Hastings

Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph cofounded Netflix in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail service provider before it would become the streaming giant it is today. Hastings gave up the CEO title in January 2023, though he still serves as board chairman.

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See how different Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other tech CEOs looked when they f…