Ukrainian immigrant who lived on food stamps now a billionaire

The creators of instant messaging service WhatsApp can now comfortably call themselves billionaires after signing a $19 billion deal with Facebook.

But the duo's road to becoming billionaires several times over has been filled with humble beginnings and setbacks

Koum, 37, who co-founded the app with Brian Acton in 2009 co-founded WhatsApp in 2009, and five years later, is now estimated to now be worth about $6.8 billion. But at one point he was a teenage immigrant who lived on food stamps.

The 'long time'-friend of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was just 16 when he moved to the U.S. from Ukraine.

He was raised in a rural community, in a house with no hot water or electricity, and when the family moved overseas, his mother packed their suitcases with school supplies to save money.

As a young immigrant, Koum and his mother had to rely on food stamps, and in a poignant tribute to his humble past, he chose to sign the deal with Facebook at the same welfare office in Mountain View where he used to queue to get food stamps.

The offices for WhatsApp, an instant messaging service with 450 million active users which Koum created with Brian Acton in 2009, are located only a few blocks from the welfare office.

On Wednesday, Acton and Koum stood outside the welfare building as they signed the deal with Facebook, only this time Koum was able to drive there in his Porsche.

His humble beginnings appear to have instilled in him a strong work ethic and dislike for egotism - WhatsApp may be a global phenomenon but it has no sign at its office.

'I can’t see a reason for there being a sign. It’s an ego boost,' he told Forbes. 'We all know where we work.'

Koum and Acton developed WhatsApp in coffee shops and at their homes. It took just a few years for the app to be worth billions of dollars. 

Facebook has paid $12 billion in stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp, and the founders and employees will be granted $3 billion in restricted stock that will vest over four years after the $19 billion deal closes.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the acquisition on his Facebook page, acknowledging his long-standing friendship with Koum in particular.

'I've known Jan for a long time, and I know that we both share the vision of making the world more open and connected.

'I'm particularly happy that Jan has agreed to join the Facebook board and partner with me to shape Facebook's future as well as WhatsApp's.'

Less is known about Acton's background, although his CV ticks a lot of boxes for a typical employee in the tech industry - Stanford University, Apple and Yahoo!

But surprisingly Acton was actually turned down for a job with Facebook, the very company that has signed the deal with Whatsapp, in 2009. 

In a tweet on his Twitter account at the time, he had posted: 'Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life's next adventure.'

Twitter also appears to have turned Acton down for a job in the same year.

Koum has promised that despite the billion-dollar deal, the app will continue to function in the same way.

In an official statement posted on his own blog, Koum says: 'Almost five years ago we started WhatsApp with a simple mission: building a cool product used globally by everybody. 

'Nothing else mattered to us.

'Today we are announcing a partnership with Facebook that will allow us to continue on that simple mission. 

'Doing this will give WhatsApp the flexibility to grow and expand, while giving me, Brian, and the rest of our team more time to focus on building a communications service that’s as fast, affordable and personal as possible.

'Here’s what will change for you, our users: nothing.'

CV - JAN KOUM

Education: 
- Mountain View High School - 'Barely graduated', 1995
- San Jose State University - BSc Computer Science, 'Dropped out'

Work Experience:
- Yahoo! - Security and Operations Engineering and later Infrastructure Engineering, 1998 - 2007
- Whatsapp - Senior Tweet Manager, 'building cool s*** used by millions of people', 2009 - Now

Other: Born in Ukraine, emigrated at 16. Quotes Kanye West in his Twitter bio. Long-time friend of Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

CV - BRIAN ACTON

Education:
- University of Pennsylvania - Economics, Computer Science, Benjamin Franklin Scholar, 1991
 - Stanford University -  BSc Computer Science, 1994

Work Experience:
- Apple - Hardware Test Engineer, Software Engineer, 1993 - 1996 (apart from a short four month stint at Adobe in -94)
- Yahoo! - From Software Engineer to Vice President of Engineering, 1996 - 2007
- Whatsapp - "Revolutionizing Mobile Communications", 2009 - Now

Other: Last tweet, posted in January 2012, was 'whatsapp'.