Reed Hastings Net Worth 2025: Ever wondered how much Netflix CEO is worth? Read on, as we take you through the biography, earnings, salary, and net worth of Reed Hastings.
Who is Reed Hastings and How Much is He Worth?
Full Name | Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. |
Date of Birth | October 8, 1960 |
Profession | Entrepreneur |
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Country | United States of America |
Source of Wealth | Netflix |
Net Worth | $5.9 billion |
Last Updated | March, 2025 |
Reed Hastings is an American businessman and the CEO of Netflix. Hastings has an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion. Hastings is the co-founder, chairman, and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Netflix. He is also a member of numerous boards of directors and non-profits organizations.
From 2011 to 2019, Reed was on the board of directors of Facebook. Also, from 2007 to 2012, he was on the board of directors of Microsoft.
Reed Hastings once served as a member of the California State Board of Education. He is a strong advocate for education reform through charter schools.
Early Life
Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. was born on October 8, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. His father was an attorney for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Nixon administration. His mother, on the other hand, was a Boston debutante from a Social Register family.
For his education, Hastings attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After high school, Hastings spent a year selling vacuum cleaners from door to door before attending college. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Bowdoin College.
Hastings had a brief stint with the Marine Corps. He spent his college summers in the marines, however, he did not complete the training and therefore was never commissioned into the Marine Corps. After college, between 1983 to 1985, Hastings went to teach math at a high school in Swaziland, Africa as part of a Peace Corp service.
In 1988, Hastings obtained his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University.
How Did Reed Hastings Make his Fortune?
Hastings landed his first job with Adaptive Technology, where he was tasked with the responsibility of creating a tool for debugging software. However, he left the company in 1991 to establish his first company, Pure Software, which produced products to troubleshoot software.
Under Hastings, the company’s growth was stagnated because he lacked managerial experience. In 1995, the company was taken public by Morgan Stanley. A year later, the company announced a merger with Atria Software.
In 1997, both companies were acquired by Rational Software. Subsequently, Hastings was appointed Chief Technical Officer of the combined companies. Hastings left soon after the acquisition and spent two years thinking about his next startup.
In 1997, Hastings and Marc Randolph co-founded Netflix. According to Reed, he had the idea for Netflix after he left Pure Software. The idea came after he got to pay a six-week late fee of $40 for “Apollo 13” to a video store.
Netflix started by selling DVDs and DVD rental. However, as of 2021, the company has over 208 million subscribers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Netflix’s net worth is estimated at $40 billion.
Personal Life
Reed Hastings is happily married to Patricia Ann Quillin. Together they have two children. Reed and his family live in Santa Cruz, California. According to reports, he spent $1.5 million to acquire their new home in August 2013.
They also own a two-story penthouse apartment in Hollywood. He bought the apartment for $1.75 million from actress Charlize Theron in 2016.
In June 2020, Hastings and his wife Patty donated $120 million to fund scholarships at two historically Black colleges & the United Negro College Fund.
Reed Hastings Net Worth, Salary and Earnings 2025
Reed Hastings has an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion. Most of his earnings come from Netflix, the company he co-founded. Reed holds about 5.5 million shares in Netflix. He also holds shares in other companies like Facebook and Microsoft.
According to celebritynetworth, Hastings’ base salary at Netflix is $650,000. He was reported to have earned roughly $3 million base salaries between 2010 to 2014. Additionally, he earns other bonuses, stock awards, and other compensations which makes his earnings skyrocket.
In 2020, Reed earned roughly $33.4 million in other compensation. This is slightly more than the $31.5 million he earned in 2019.
Summary
Reed Hastings is an American businessman and co-founder of Netflix. Reed’s net worth is estimated at $5.9 billion. He sits on a number of boards and non-profit organizations. Reed is married to Patricia Ann Quillin and together, they have two children.