# Roelof Botha

> Roelof Frederik Botha is a South African-American venture capitalist and former Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital, one of the world's most storied VC firms. Grandson of South African foreign minister Pik Botha, he rose from PayPal CFO at age 28 - overseeing the company's IPO and $1.5B sale to eBay - to become one of Silicon Valley's most celebrated investors. He wrote the original investment memo for YouTube when the company had 3 employees and a valuation of $11.5M; Google bought it 14 months later for $1.65B. Over two decades at Sequoia, he backed YouTube, Instagram, Block (Square), MongoDB, Unity, Natera, and dozens more, generating over $50 billion in returns for limited partners. He stepped down as Sequoia's Senior Steward in November 2025.

- **Role:** Advisor at Sequoia Capital
- **Organizations:** Sequoia Capital, MongoDB, Block (Square), Natera, Unity Technologies, Ethos Technologies, Stanford University Board of Trustees
- **From:** Pretoria, South Africa
- **Nationality:** South African-American
- **Education:** BSc in Actuarial Science, Economics, and Statistics, University of Cape Town, MBA, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Highest undergraduate GPA in University of Cape Town history, Valedictorian at Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA 2000), Named CFO of PayPal at age 28

## Career timeline

- **1996-1998** — Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company, Johannesburg
- **1998-2000** — MBA student at Stanford GSB; faced financial crisis due to South African currency controls
- **2000** — Joined X.com (later PayPal) as Director of Corporate Development; sat next to Elon Musk
- **2001-2003** — Named CFO of PayPal at age 28; led the company's IPO (Feb 2002) and $1.5B sale to eBay (Oct 2002)
- **2003** — Joined Sequoia Capital as Partner, invited by Michael Moritz
- **2005** — Wrote the investment memo for YouTube when it had 3 employees; Sequoia invested at $11.5M valuation
- **2006** — Google acquired YouTube for $1.65B — 57x return for Sequoia in 14 months
- **2010s** — Led investments in Instagram, Block (Square), MongoDB, Tumblr, Eventbrite, 23andMe, and many more
- **2017** — Named Head of Sequoia's U.S. and European early-stage franchises
- **2022** — Named Managing Partner / Senior Steward of Sequoia Capital in July
- **2023** — Named Chairman of Unity Technologies board; oversaw spin-offs of China arm (HongShan) and India arm (Peak XV)
- **2024** — Sequoia participated in Elon Musk's xAI $6B funding round
- **2025-11** — Stepped down as Sequoia's Senior Steward; Alfred Lin and Pat Grady named co-stewards

## Achievements

- Highest undergraduate GPA in University of Cape Town history
- Valedictorian at Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA 2000)
- Named CFO of PayPal at age 28
- Led PayPal's IPO (February 2002) raising $61M
- Negotiated PayPal's $1.5B acquisition by eBay (2002)
- Wrote the original YouTube investment memo (September 2, 2005) at a $11.5M valuation — returned 57x in 14 months
- Backed YouTube, Instagram, Block (Square), MongoDB, Unity, Natera, Eventbrite, 23andMe and more
- Distributed $50B+ in profits to Sequoia's limited partners as Managing Partner
- Ranked #9 on Forbes Midas List (2021), #13 (2025)
- Ranked #89 on Fortune 100 Most Powerful People in Business (2025)
- Member of the PayPal Mafia
- Founded the Botha Chan Innovation Program at Stanford GSB with wife Huifen Chan

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Stepped down as Sequoia Capital's Senior Steward; Alfred Lin and Pat Grady named co-stewards on November 4, 2025.
- **2025-11** — In post-departure interview with Axios, said SpaceX could be worth more than OpenAI.
- **2025-10** — Keynote speaker at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 (20th anniversary); stated 'venture capital is not an asset class.'
- **2025-03** — Full Fortune interview on renewed optimism in venture capital, unicorn market reality, and Sequoia's investment culture.
- **2025-01** — Ranked #13 on Forbes Midas List 2025 and #89 on Fortune's 100 Most Powerful People in Business.
- **2024-12** — Sequoia participated in Elon Musk's xAI $6 billion funding round.

## Links

- Website: https://sequoiacap.com/people/roelof-botha/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roelofbotha
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/roelofbotha

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/roelof-botha
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05