Patrick Collison
United States/Ireland
Net Worth
$10B
Source of Wealth
Stripe
Global Rank
#94 of 100
About Patrick Collison
Patrick Collison is the co-founder and CEO of Stripe, the financial technology company that has revolutionized online payments and become one of the most valuable private technology companies in the world. Together with his brother John, Patrick built Stripe from a simple idea — that accepting payments online should be as easy as adding a few lines of code — into a global financial infrastructure company processing hundreds of billions of dollars annually. His combination of deep technical ability, voracious intellectual curiosity, and strategic vision has made him one of the most respected technology leaders of his generation.
Born in Dromineer, a small village in County Tipperary, Ireland, Patrick showed extraordinary intellectual gifts from an early age. He won Ireland's Young Scientist of the Year award at 16, scored a perfect 800 on his SAT math section, and entered MIT at 17. He dropped out to co-found Stripe with John, convinced that the complexity of online payments was one of the biggest bottlenecks to internet commerce. That insight proved profoundly correct: Stripe's elegant APIs and developer-first approach attracted millions of businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Under Patrick's leadership, Stripe has expanded far beyond payments into a comprehensive suite of financial infrastructure tools including billing, fraud prevention, banking-as-a-service, corporate treasury management, and climate action. He has also become known as a passionate advocate for scientific research and economic progress, founding the science-funding organization Arc Institute and supporting numerous initiatives to accelerate scientific discovery. His intellectual ambition extends to understanding how civilizations grow and develop, reflected in his extensive reading and his support for institutions that study and promote human progress.
Key Achievements
Built Stripe into Global Financial Infrastructure
Co-founded and grew Stripe into one of the most valuable private companies in the world, processing hundreds of billions of dollars in payments across millions of businesses.
Youngest Self-Made Billionaire
Became one of the youngest self-made billionaires in history, achieving extraordinary business success while still in his twenties.
Developer-First Payment Revolution
Pioneered the API-first approach to financial services, making it possible for any developer to integrate sophisticated payment processing with just a few lines of code.
Scientific Research Advocacy
Co-founded the Arc Institute and championed increased investment in scientific research, working to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and its translation to applications.
Stripe Climate Initiative
Launched Stripe Climate, enabling businesses to direct a fraction of their revenue to carbon removal technologies, creating a new funding mechanism for climate solutions.
Notable Quotes
“The internet is still very early. Most commerce still happens offline. We want to increase the GDP of the internet.”
— Patrick Collison
“If you want to build something significant, you need to think in terms of decades, not quarters.”
— Patrick Collison
“We started Stripe because we thought the internet economy was being held back by the difficulty of moving money. That's still true, and there's still so much to build.”
— Patrick Collison
Key Decisions
Dropped out of MIT to co-found Stripe with brother John, pursuing the conviction that online payments were unnecessarily complex and ripe for disruption.
Launched Stripe's public API, establishing the developer-first approach to payments that would attract millions of businesses and reshape fintech.
Expanded Stripe beyond payments into a comprehensive financial infrastructure platform, adding billing, fraud prevention, and corporate treasury tools.
Launched Stripe Climate, creating an innovative mechanism for businesses to automatically fund carbon removal technologies through their Stripe accounts.
Co-founded the Arc Institute to fund ambitious, long-term scientific research, reflecting his passion for accelerating human progress through science.
Explore More
See how Glen Bradford applies these principles to his own investing. Long Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac junior preferred — and not going anywhere.