Michael Saylor is a software developer and Bitcoin investor worth $1.8 billion. Although he originally wanted to become a pilot, a health condition forced him to change his goal. He applied his deep understanding of mathematics to create business intelligence products with predictive features.
More recently, he has become a noteworthy Bitcoin investor who probably ranks among the cryptocurrency’s top 10 owners.
How Did Michael Saylor Get Started?
Michael Saylor studied aeronautics and technology at MIT with hopes of becoming a pilot. A medical condition prevented him from reaching that dream, so he accepted a job offer from The National Group.
At the consulting firm, he focused on building computer simulations that predicted outcomes. A year after joining The National Group, he became an internal consultant with DuPont. While at DuPont, he developed predictive models that anticipated downturns in some areas of the chemical company’s sectors. This initial success helped save DuPont countless dollars and established Saylor as an effective consultant.
Saylor worked with DuPont for four years before he had enough money to start his own business independent of The National Group.
He reached out to Sanju Bansal, a fraternity brother whose work he had admired at MIT. Together, they co-founded MicroStrategy and started building business intelligence software.
Did Michael Saylor Work at McDonalds?
People often say that Michael Saylor worked at McDonald’s, but this is only partially true. Really, he worked with his team at MicroStrategy to build software solutions for the fast food giant.
McDonald’s became MicroStrategy’s first major client in 1992 when it awarded a $10 million contract to the startup.
MicroStrategy’s success with data mining and analytics earned it a positive reputation that led to several years of rapid growth.
What Did Michael Saylor Do Before Bitcoin?
Saylor had an impressive career years before he started investing in Bitcoin seriously. His work creating innovative business intelligence solutions earned him awards from MIT Technology Review and other prestigious organizations.
Saylor spent three decades as MicroStrategy’s CEO. During that time, he took the company public and attracted major investors that helped build out its business intelligence solutions. Each release anticipated the growing digital needs of businesses.
Saylor also had to contend with some emergencies during his term as CEO. The SEC reviewed MicroStrategy’s accounting processes and found discrepancies that led to a million-dollar fine. MicroStrategy never admitted to any wrongdoing, but it agreed to have a third party handle its accounting needs.
Michael Saylor MicroStrategy
Michael Saylor co-founded MicroStrategy with two friends in 1989. Saylor served as the company’s CEO until 2022, when Phong Lee took the position. Saylor said that leaving the role would give him more time to concentrate on studying Bitcoin as an investment opportunity.
During Saylor’s tenure as CEO, MicroStrategy released at least 13 business intelligence software solutions. MicroStrategy 2020 includes a revamped version of the software’s Hyperintelligence analytics tool.
Saylor oversaw several important tasks as MicroStrategy’s CEO. He acquired and sold several smaller businesses. He established fruitful connections with venture capitalists. He also took the company public. As his interest in Bitcoin grew, though, he wanted to give someone else oversight of the company’s operations.
How Did Michael Saylor Make His Money?
Michael Saylor made his money as co-founder and CEO of Microstrategy, and subsequently as a bitcoin investor.
How Many Bitcoin Did Michael Saylor Buy?
MicroStrategy invested $250 million in Bitcoin. Saylor has continued to buy more Bitcoin since. In November 2023, the company acquired 16,130 coins. It’s portfolio now includes 174,530 Bitcoin.
Bitcoin’s volatility made investors worry that MicroStrategy would need to sell some of its coins as the value fell to $20,000.
The company had enough cash reserves that it could hold its investment, though. The strategy paid off as Bitcoin has since reached $44,000.
How Much Did Michael Saylor Lose When Bitcoin Fell?
Bitcoin investing needs a strategy that accounts for the assets’ volatility.
During the 2022 crash, Bitcoin’s value fell from $69,000 to below $19,000. Why didn’t Saylor’s predictive analytics see the crash coming? After all, it’s a volatile currency with a history of sharp ups and downs.
Unfortunately, Saylor probably couldn’t have predicted the fall because FTX declared bankruptcy after its founder committed fraud. No one could have known the company was hiding information. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, was arrested on securities fraud and wire fraud charges. Bitcoin investors lost confidence and sold their coins.
As with any asset, the sudden surge in sales forced Bitcoin’s value down. Saylor lost about $1.3 billion in the crash. However, he was able to retain ownership of his coins instead of selling them to avoid further losses. Keeping the coins positioned Saylor and MicroStrategy for a comeback as Bitcoin’s value rebounded.
Who Owns The Most Bitcoin?
Blockchains use anonymous addresses that make it hard to know who owns Bitcoin. Someone can also use multiple blockchain addresses, which makes research even more challenging.
Some research and analysis firms think they have an answer. Many say Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has the most Bitcoin. If true, Nakamoto likely owns 1.1 million BTC spread over 22,000 addresses.
Saying Satoshi Nakamoto owns the most Bitcoin raises other questions, though. The biggest problem is that no one knows who Nakamoto is. The name probably represents a group of technology developers that created Bitcoin and blockchain databases in the late 2000s. As Bitcoin’s creators, the person or persons behind Nakamoto had opportunities to buy coins from the beginning, meaning they could purchase whole coins for pennies.
Regardless of who or what Nakamoto is, they’re universally regarded as the largest Bitcoin investor.
Michael Saylor Bitcoin Prediction
Saylor thinks Bitcoin’s value will skyrocket before the end of 2024. Sure, that’s a bullish position, but he has reasons to believe in Bitcoin’s investment potential.
Bitcoin caps the number of coins that can exist. This feature means that coins become harder and more expensive to mine over time. Saylor believes that the dwindling supply and high mining costs will force Bitcoin miners to start selling more of their coins. When this happens, Bitcoin’s scarcity will encourage investors to buy.
Saylor’s Bitcoin prediction depends on serious people taking over the industry. He believes reliable companies like MicroStrategy need to become the industry’s leaders instead of letting young, idealistic people like Bankman-Fried undermine Bitcoin’s future. As he put it, “the adults” need to take over and replace less serious people without business experience.
There are good reasons to believe more mature, grounded influencers would benefit Bitcoin’s future as an investment asset. Bankman-Fried famously contended that FTX didn’t need a CFO because he knew where the money was, making the CFO position irrelevant. A more rational approach would apply sound business principles to Bitcoin instead of trusting eccentric individuals to lead the way.
Is Saylor correct about Bitcoin’s potential? Only the market can say for sure. Although FTX scared investors, it also brought Bitcoin back into media headlines, which could rejuvenate interest in the crypto asset. If that happens, the market could find a new group of users. As they invest, Bitcoin’s value should grow and Saylor will become even wealthier.
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